The Sleeper Effect
by Without Warrant
Summary: It would be like hitting the restart button: they wouldn't remember him. It'd be a fresh start. Sora thought this was a blessing in disguise, until he returned to Destiny Islands himself and saw only blankness where love and compassion should've been in their eyes. RiSo/SoRi. Lemony goodness, AU scenario of the KH saga.
1. Prologue: Shame

**Disclaimer:** I do not, in any way, shape or form, own Kingdom Hearts or the Disney movies associated with it.

**A/N:** This story is an _extremely revamped version of the Kingdom Hearts saga_. Some portions of the games won't be included; I'm sure some of you will notice. **Key points that everyone reading should take note of**:

1.** Kairi and Riku** will _not_ have been involved in any of the adventures associated with the Kingdom Hearts Saga; they remained on Destiny Islands throughout Sora's entire journey.

2. The encounters Sora had in the various words are still intact – again, it just happened without Riku or Kairi being involved. Any of the encounters that I don't reference to or discuss in the story were either excluded from this story, or just weren't important enough for me to include.

This story is set four years after Sora started his journey. He's 16 now, Riku's 17, and Kairi is 16.

I had this story posted under another account called . I decided after not having had access to the web for awhile and rereading it once I got my computer back that… Well, I just have to continue it.

Thanks for reading the note. Enjoy!

"Speaking."

'_Thoughts_.'

_Flashback/Dream_.

* * *

**Prologue: Shame**

* * *

"_So many are still waiting."_

_Perspiration was clinging to my brow. _

_My forehead. _

_My neck. _

_My chest. _

_Even my legs. _

_The dampness of the heavily-plated material made me slow, pace sagging until I finally came to a halt. _

"_Waiting for what?" I mused aloud, only to cringe at the sound of my voice: I sounded weak, even to myself. Harsh, sand-crusted oxygen was clinging desperately to my lungs. It was a hard task to breathe, I suddenly noticed. The taste of minerals on my tongue made me realize how dry my mouth was – how dry my throat was, for that matter._

_I couldn't help but find it sort of ironic that I could feel so dry inside while being saturated in sweat on the outside. I'd have to remember to ask Mast-_

"_For their new beginning." _

_I reached up to draw plate-covered fingers against my brow, wiping away a teardrop of sweat that'd started to fall. The voice was familiar to me, yet unfamiliar. I didn't know how the combination was possible when both were present, but it was. Did I know this voice?_

_My heart answered for me as it picked up its pace._

_I did, but I didn't remember whose it was. _

"_Oh yeah?" I tried and failed to pull off some confidence in my voice. It was hard just standing here, really, with sand-saturated wind blowing in my face and no shade to go under to cool off. I didn't bother patting my sides to see if I had any flasks on me; there were none, and I knew it. _

"_Their birth by sleep. Even me. And even you."_

_A shiver crawled up my spine. Slowly, I opened my eyes after pulling my hand back and simply stared at the vast landscape before me. This area was familiar to me... Yet __**why**__...__** Why**__ was I so surprised to be here now?_

_Keyblades dug into the red, clay-like earth. Endless numbers of them. Hilts were all that was visible of most of them, vertically planted in infinite rows along the ground – lifeless, smeared in rust and grime, as useless as their former bearers were now. 'Dead, most likely.' I was surprised by how much I didn't care._

_**What was I doing here again?**_

_Or better yet…__** why?**_

_Master Er-.._

_I shook my head, blinking rapidly as a figure began to form in the distance. At first I thought it might've been a mirage – a trick of the mind, my psyche being hopeful to find someone in the area who could help me. _

_Water._

_Water sounded good._

_That'd be a good start._

_Aqua. Warmth surged through me at the word. Confusion was the underdog emotion below the familiarity and comfort that the word – no… Not a word – the comfort that the __**name**__ brought me. _

_A heart-shaped, feminine face framed by bright-blue locks started to form into my mind, but before I could completely grasp onto the image my eyes were drawn to the mirage in front of me again._

_He'd gotten closer. Or it._

_Upon closer inspection, I decided it was male. Definitely male._

_The dark figure wasn't a fake, after all. He was tall, roughly my own height, and dawned in a skin-clinging suit that was as dark as the sky above us. My brows drew together for several seconds upon the sight above us: it was a cloudless night, and yet there were no stars glimmering above us? Where were the other worlds?_

_The heavy sound of footfalls redirected my attention to the matter before me._

_Focus._

_I blinked several times, trying to clear my vision. Everything was starting to become blurry._

_The man came to a halt. No more than ten yards from me now, his face was obscured by a dark hood. Oddly enough, I found myself unwilling to feel threatened by his presence – he too, it would seem, was familiar to me. The frustration was beginning to bubble inside of me. My head was starting to throb from it._

"_Who are you?" My lips were cracked. It hurt to ask that aloud. How long had I been out here?_

_The man seemed amused by the question. "He's leaving you behind. And by the time you catch up, he'll be a different person." If he hadn't been hiding his face, I knew I would've seen a smile forming. Despite the fact that I should've been quelled over his comment, his attitude, given it was so elusive and made absolutely no fucking sense whatsoever, the only thought that managed to come to my mind was: why was he so familiar to me?_

_Or better yet... __**Why**__ did it matter?_

_Words sifted into my mind, pressing down on me like a blanket being drawn over my body. "Remember that darkness lingers in every heart." Master's voice whispered into my ears as I stared at this figure. What was his name..? I pressed hard into my mind, trying to summon it. _

_I knew this man._

_My fingers clenched into fists. I moved to take a step forward, but suddenly found myself unable to move my plated feet. I couldn't move my head, either. It was as if a sickeningly-slow poison was taking over my body, leaving all of my muscles both loose and stiff all at once. _

"_Who ARE you?" I repeated, hoping to convey my frustration. If the figure was aware of any sort of struggle I was going through, he didn't make it obvious. He just stood there, staring at me, remaining quiet. "HEY. Who ARE you?" My head hurt._

"_Can't you hear me?" Was it really that hard?_

"_ANSWER me!" Just one answer. _

_Just one, amongst so many that I had._

_My voice was growing quieter and quieter, even as I attempted to raise it. Sand was scraping down my throat with each breath I took. My chest was heaving. Why was I wearing plate in the desert?_

"_What's wrong with me?" I asked, even though I wasn't expecting a response._

_The wind was picking up, encasing the area in the reddish-brown tinge that I was already so used to. In a last attempt to get a hold of myself, I held my right hand out, and summoned my ever-ready keyblade. 'At least that was working.' Teeth grinding together, I stood there, hoping to appear threatening, even if I was about as useful as a paraplegic on the front force of a combat scene._

_If he wouldn't talk… I'd take matters into my own hands. Frozen or not._

_I was tired of all the questions. Where was T-…?_

"_He-" I was stunned into silence however, simply staring as the man before me held out his own arm, mirroring my motion; moments later, a keyblade solidified within his grasp. Four words left the figure's moving lips, though it was not of his own voice, but another's._

"_You're starting to realize."_

* * *

"Sora?"

Blue eyes slid open, slowly. For several seconds he didn't move, simply letting his head rest on the warm surface it was set on. Tired orbs blinked a few times, nose and lips scrunching up – it made the papers he'd been sleeping on crunch up against his face. After breathing in several times to settle his pounding heart, Sora sat up, the few papers that'd been clinging to him falling away to settle on the mess before him.

'_You did it again_,' the words came to him, accusatory, totally uncalled for, even if they were true.

'_Shut it, not in the mood_.' He could see how his day was going to start.

"Sora?"

Right.

Company.

_Get it together._

Sora leaned up in the chair he was slouched in, quickly rubbing his eyes and smoothing his hair back before turning around to face the figure in question. Mickey was standing directly before the teen in all of his darkly-clad glory, black eyes fixed on his lighter ones. For several seconds of intense silence the brunet found himself fidgeting, wanting to look away from his remotely-accusing glare, but unable to.

If Sora was being honest with himself, the sight of the tiny mouse was making his stomach clench, but not from displeasure. Disappointment, rather, as the reason for the other male's presence began to settle in.

_Again. _

He'd done it _again_.

The look was on his face: the downcast smile, the looseness of his posture. And… why was he in his bed clothes?

"King Mickey. Sorry I missed dinner, I fe-"

"Fell asleep reading again?" Mickey broke in before he could finish. A flush of heat was starting to draw up his body, as much as he wanted to fight it. Cheeks aflame, Sora finally looked away from him, instead staring at the endless aisles of books. He'd been in the mouse's Castle for nearly a year now, and still hadn't managed to read nearly a single percent of the collection he had in his library. It would've been impossible to do, really, even if he'd been reading nonstop: the only portion of the enormous room that wasn't covered in books was the few desks littered about, one of which he was currently situated in front of.

A prickle of anxiousness drew up the teen's spine, forcing him to straighten his posture; he leaned back towards the desk in his chair, smoothing his arm over the reports he'd been reviewing. Silently, Sora hoped the small being hadn't seen what he'd been looking at – he honestly wasn't in the mood to hear anymore chiding, from anyone.

"Yeah. Was just reading over a few things to keep my mind off reality." The teen's normal smile began to play at the corners of his lips as he said this jokingly, though Mickey didn't seem too amused by the attempt to lighten the mood.

Damn.

"What's bothering you?"

"Nothing," Sora started back snappily, though it dissolved into a softer tone as he continued. "Just.." Hesitance. His lips clamped shut. Guilt flooded him at how rude he knew he'd just sounded; sometimes, though, it was hard pretending to be _okay _when you felt like you were losing your _mind_.

Sapphire-blue orbs glanced away from the aisles of books around him, and instead drifted towards the ceiling-high windows. "Just.." He sighed.

"Just what, Sora?" The mouse rounded the table, scooting up into the single chair across from him. Concern was drawing into his small, dark eyes, and despite the fact that Sora appreciated the sincerity behind the emotion, he wanted nothing more than for Mickey to turn and leave – leave him to his sleep, his dreams. He felt like he hadn't slept in days.

"Just don't know why I keep having those dreams." Sora kept his voice quiet, level. He wasn't expecting anything new to come from the approaching discussion. Just as he'd predicted, Mickey simply leaned up in his huge chair, looking like a child prepared to try helping their parent. "I mean," he started up again as the mouse's mouth began to open, "nothing is new from what I've been seeing. Just the Graveyard, lately, and that same man."

"I thought you said you hadn't been having those dreams anymore? For almost a month?" Mickey's nonexistent brows would've drawn together if he'd had them to do so with. A look of mean concentration was taking over his small visage; it was a sight Sora had become all-too accustomed to, one that'd made his stomach clench in anticipation every time he'd seen it.

Finally he sighed. "Started up again yesterday."

"Just yesterday?" The mouse was pressing hard. He could feel his gaze burning into the side of his face. It made the guilt blossom and spread in his gut. He hated lying to him.

"Yeah." Sora was questioning the sincerity of his voice just as much as Mickey probably was at that moment. Still, the mouse didn't comment on it. Instead he just redirected himself to the dream itself.

"The one in all black?" Sora's gaze flicked over from the windows, meeting obsidian black ones square-on. "Just the one man was in the dream?" The brunet blinked, before nodding in confirmation.

"The one in all black," he finally conceded.

"And the names haven't come to you yet?" The keyblade master shook his head in response to this. The guilt felt sickeningly strong – the presence of it was so potent he felt as if he could taste it in his mouth.

_Aqua_. The blue-haired girl. She had a name now. For one reason or another, Sora didn't feel like divulging this to Mickey. The dreams had, at first, started off as something he'd passed off as a weird coincidence – something his mind was making up. After they'd become more and more reoccurring, he'd brought them to the attention of the small creature. It was then, and only then, that Mickey had bothered showing a common appearance to his company – interest, curiosity. That's what he'd pegged it as... Until he'd overheard _The Conversation_.

And when Sora had discovered he knew something about his dreams that he didn't, that Mickey had been lying to him, Sora hadn't seen any reason as to keep telling him of the new things he'd been seeing.

"Did he say anything new?" Again, the brunette shook his head in a negative.

Mickey released several 'hmmms' of contemplation over the next five minutes as they spoke. Then, the same pattern to their normal late-night discussions took place over the next half hour: exactly what the area had looked like, if he'd noticed anything different, if the man had said anything new, if any other figures had shown up – whether it was day time, or night, and finally, _finally_, if any new emotions had come to him. If his body had felt different. He'd repeated the same things to the mouse so many times that it was more than just irritating to have to tell him over and over and over and over again what'd happened: it pissed him off, frankly.

Sora would've assumed that after saying _nothing had changed_ that it would've been obvious that _nothing had changed_.

By the time they'd finished talking, several of the Castle's keepers (the Brooms) had sifted into the room, starting a blazing fire in the far eastern corner of it. (He'd always wondered how they managed to do this exactly, but had never been close enough to actually see them do it.) The candlelight that'd supplied the majority of Sora's reading time had diminished some over their midnight discussion, and by the time Mickey had slid out of his chair and started to scuttle out of the room, they'd nearly blacked out. A few of the brooms were still present, however, and were letting loose the curtains that'd been tied on either side of the windows, allowing them to fall over the glass. Moonlight still managed to peak through the partially see-through material, though it was not nearly enough to continue his 'research', as he'd hoped. Whether this was done purposely by Mickey or not, he still felt as if the mouse was to blame.

"Good night Sora." Mickey's voice remained as bright as normal, though Sora could've sworn there was a tinge to it, as if the mouse was aware that he'd been keeping something from him. Or maybe he was just getting paranoid. "Don't forget to be up early – you have a big day tomorrow!" The mouse's cheerful voice was still echoing throughout the library as his small figure disappeared behind the monstrous entrance.

Sora cringed at the reminder.

It was nearly a solid minute before he remembered to reply with his own return of "good night", though he doubted Mickey had heard him.

He turned back to the desk and began to gather up the reports he'd been reading, carefully placing them in one of the books he'd had out earlier. Without a shred of guilt, he placed the novel containing those papers within his personal satchel.

"Like you said yourself Mickey," the brunet muttered, sighing as he stood up and slung it over his shoulder, "no point in bothering with Ansem's Reports anymore." Sora was sure he wouldn't notice them missing.

_They were his, anyways. He'd been the one that'd collected most of them, not Mickey_.

As the teen started out of the library and into the ironically-bright Great Hallway, Sora smiled, taking a sharp right turn to head towards his temporary quarters. He was in an okay mood still, _sort of_, despite Mickey's intrusion. He'd accomplished a lot over his time here, and to say he regretted his prolonged residence would've been a lie.

_Four years._

It'd been _four years_, already.

Almost time.

Sora bit his bottom lip, hesitating as his fingers enclosed along his doorknob. Slowly he turned it, before pressing it open. The door swung open with leisure, exposing a surprisingly spotless bedroom. His canopy bed was huge, by far the most eye-catching piece of furniture in the room. Covered in a red-toned comforter, the dark nightstands stationed on either side of it were complimentary to the eye. An enormous set of French doors opened up the far right side of the room to a balcony – outside of which he could view the Castle gardens. Other than a desk, as well as his own personal walking-wardrobe, the room was bare of much other furniture. The plain ivory walls were just as bare.

Mickey had subtly given him the hint not to make his room into something too "personal", which was exactly what he'd done. No reason to get attached, right? Yet looking at it now, Sora could feel his eyes starting to burn. The familiarity of it had already settled in, even if he wouldn't be calling it his room any longer in a few hours.

To think, just a few floors below, the chipmunks were prep-

'_Don't think about it Sora,_' he chided himself, before stepping inside and shutting the door behind him.

For obvious reasons he hadn't spent too much time in his room beyond sleeping. When he wasn't sparring with his fellow best friends (who'd returned to being simple guards of the Castle), Sora had been found either in the library or in the kitchens, helping out as best he could. The clothes he'd had with him, as well as the few miniscule items he'd collected over his journeys were already safely stowed-away aboard his Gummi ship.

The brunet tugged at his gloves anxiously, looking around the bare room. The idea to ask Mickey if he could stay longer – just a few months – had crossed his mind several times. Sora hadn't actually done it though. He would've been denied before he could support his reasoning behind the idea.

The teen was sure something along the lines of: "_you've been here long enough... It's time to return to your own world_" would've been spouted from the mouse.

To which, Sora often fantasized over, he would've responded with: "_but I'm not even like them anymore. What am I going to do with myself?_"

In his mental-theatre, he was sure the mouse would've returned with: "_Live your life like you should've all along, Sora!"_ Sora always pictured Mickey smiling at him as he said this, and always felt a rush of real anger flow throughout his body in response.

The brunet face-planted into his bed, breathing in deeply several times. Rolling over onto his back, he moodily threw his head back against his pillows, scowling. After several moments of discomfort he leaned up again, grabbed his pillow, before discarding it on the ground; following this, he folded his arms behind his head and leaned back down, forehead pounding with a vengeful headache. He didn't care if what he'd just done was childish. Sometimes, it felt good acting like he was still a twelve year-old brat rather than the sixteen year-old _man_ he was now.

For the first time in what felt like years, Sora pictured his mom storming up the staircase towards his bedroom, telling him that losing his temper would only get him in more trouble. She'd have told him to stop acting like a child.

The brunet slowly tilted his head to the left, staring at his bedroom door, half-expecting it to burst open and his mother to come bubbling in, ranting at him about how he should start growing up already and stop throwing temper-tantrums because he couldn't go play with Kairi and Rik-.

'_Stop._' His breath stopped short, eyes squeezing shut as their faces washed over his mind. Suddenly, it hurt to breathe, just like it had in his dream.

With the fast pace of his lifestyle over the first two years of his journey, Sora had thought less of the pair, and eventually had managed to push those two to the back of his mind, along with his other childhood friends. And recently, when he _had_ thought of them it'd always been with a sense of neutrality. He liked to view the whole situation as himself being a kid who'd moved away and simply lost touch with friends. Things like that _happened_. It'd been so easy looking at things like that.. So damn easy.

Until now.

Sora rolled over onto his right side, reopening his eyes again to stare out towards the balcony. He was tempted to get up and go outside, but found himself weighed down to the bed, unable to move.

Did it make him a bad person..? That he'd done the same with his own _mom_?

_Forgotten her_?

Until now?

What made it even worse was that he could honestly admit to himself that he didn't even want to go back.

_Not anymore._

Sora squeezed his eyes shut, drawing in a shaky breath. It didn't stop the shameful tears from burning down his cheeks, though, like he'd hoped.

Five hours.

Almost time.

'_Get it together, Sora_.'

Five Hours Later – Roughly Six A.M.

Sora was awake long before he heard the soft knocking at the door, but he pretended to have just awoken, especially when Minnie quietly opened it and poked her head inside.

"Sora?" He clenched his eyes further shut, willing her to go away. "Sora, are you awake?" The brunette briefly wondered whether or not she'd leave if he told her no. What was it with adults wanting people to depart on journeys early in the morning? Still musing over this thought, he was remotely surprised to hear her speak up again.

"It's time to get going. Goofy and Donald will be waking up soon for their rotation, and..." '_I didn't want to have to tell them goodbye a second time,_' he finished for her when she grew quiet.

"Yeah, I know," Sora muttered aloud. He rolled over to face her. Queen Minnie was gowned already, looking as refreshed and pink as she had yesterday. The normally-happy smile that he generally found on her face was absent, however; she looked genuinely _unhappy_ to be here, waking him up, helping him get ready to leave.

"One sec." Still dressed in his clothes from yesterday, the brunet planted his shoe-covered feet on the ground before dragging himself upright. "I'll be down at the launch pad in a few minutes, if you just want to meet me there. Don't want you waiting..." He was just beginning to retie his shoes when he chanced glancing up and caught sight of the twitching frown forming onto her face. No, not a frown... Her lips were trembling, as if she was holding in tears.

Sora righted his posture, doing his best to smile and comfort her as he approached the doorway. Light was shining in from the Great Hallway, casting shadows over her soft features; the teen was glad of this. If the Queen had been crying, he wasn't sure he'd be able to contain his own tears. "Queen Minnie..? Are you alright?"

"I am Sora," her voice was shaky, but still modestly composed. "Don't worry about me." She waved her gloved hand at him, sniffling a few times before quieting. The teen loosed a sigh of relief. "Just going to miss you is all. Ever since all of this settled and you've been around us so much... I guess I've become sort of attached."

'_And I bet King Mickey told you not to get attached_.'

"I'm going to miss you Sora." She clasped her tiny hands before her, craning her head back to look up at him once he was before her.

"I'll miss you too, Queen Minnie," Sora offered his trademark smile, reaching up to scratch his messy locks. "But like King Mickey said, it's time to be going home right?"

Before he knew it his satchel was over his shoulder and he was closing the door behind them, picking at his gloves anxiously. Queen Minnie remained by his side as they strode down the hall. Instead of taking one of the normal pathways that he'd become accustomed to, Sora directed them downstairs, tunneling further into the Castle. It was a route he'd taken only once or twice out of all the times he'd visited this place – and with those occasions he'd felt nothing but excitement, pleasure, knowing he was departing once more to see another world.

This time…

"I bet your parents miss you." Minnie stated in an offhanded, casual manner, though it made Sora go rigid.

"Parent," he corrected her automatically. She tilted her head up, looking at him. "My dad died when I was really little," Sora offered as neutrally as he could, though even he heard the flatness of his tone. Queen Minnie nodded beside him, quickly gaining the impression that he didn't want to talk about it.

Silently he wished Mickey had the same emotional-awareness that she did.

"Well, at least you'll get to see your friends again." Again, her comment drew nothing but an uneasy silence from him. "I'm sure they'd be glad to see you. It's been what – three years now?"

"Four." His tone was becoming monotone; Sora's smile was beginning to dwindle. If even _he_ was aware of it, he was sure Minnie must've been drowning in the sound of it. "I'm sure they did miss me." _For the first few months_.

Four years had gone by. Who was she kidding – herself? He seriously hoped she wasn't trying to persuade him in to thinking that they all really missed him still. They probably thought he was dead. His mother probably thought he was dead.

And then it hit him.

Sora froze mid-stride, halfway down the last staircase that'd lead into the Gummi-Ship's boarding area. Already he could hear the mechanical workings grinding away down below, the sounds of beeping and normal warning sirens echoing up into the stairway.

"Sora?" She paused a few paces ahead, looking back up at him. The teen's face had grown ashen in color.

"Minnie?" Sora had never called her by just her first name alone before.

"Yes?"

The brunette took in a sharp breath. "What is going to happen when I get there? What am I going to tell everyone that I've been doing for the last _four_ years?"

"Well Sora," it was not Queen Minnie's voice that he heard, though, but that of her husband's. Just a few paces behind him, Sora spotted the King descending, clothed in black. The brunet cast his unwavering blue orbs on him, simply staring. For once, _once_, the King looked uncomfortable, regretful.

'_Why hadn't I asked him this before?_' He felt like kicking himself. Even if Mickey had only told him a week ago that he'd be leaving… Had he really been that far out of it?

"They won't remember you." Those four words struck him hard. Sora slowly looked back ahead at Minnie. The female mouse was no longer looking at him, but past him, straight at King Mickey in the same surprise-struck look that he was sure was present on his own face.

It made him feel a little glad, knowing that the King had at least kept this to himself. That he wasn't the only one in the dark about something like _this_.

There should've been relief. Happiness. He should've been glad the second he heard those words. He could start over fresh where he'd grown up, without having to worry about cleaning up old relationships. He should be glad that by some sick, twisted roll of events, Mickey had managed to make his return to Destiny Islands easy and simple.

Sora felt none of that.

For once, he felt an odd emotion trickle inside of him, festering in his chest, before it died. Whatever it was wasn't anything he was familiar with; he'd never felt such a strong sense of dislike before.

"_Remember that darkness lingers in every heart_." Neither Queen Minnie's nor King Mickey's lips moved as those words drove into his ears, echoing in his head as he stood there. He'd never heard his maste-.. _His_ voice inside his head outside of his dreams.

This was new.

Sora felt like his vision was tunneling in, narrowing around the mouse's pointed face.

"How?" '_Why?_' He knew the answer to that; there was no reason in asking that one.

"Naminé." The answer hit him just as the King spoke.

"Are you saying she didn't restore their memories of me?" The brunet faltered.

"I'm assuming she knew how difficult it would be for you to return home," Mickey started. His tone was relaxed and gentle. "How hard it'd be on the people who knew you. I think it worked out for the best." '_And you went there to confirm this_?' Another question he didn't ask aloud – he knew the answer already. Looking back again at Mickey, the never-ending knowledge in the mouse's cobalt-black eyes gave him the answer to that thought.

"So none of them remember me?" The King shook his head in negative. "At all?" Sora heard the disbelief in his own voice. "Nobody even knows my name?"

"They know nothing Sora," The King spoke up again, startling him, "there isn't a single document on the islands with your name on it. I've been making trips there over the last few months to ensure that your return would be as easy as possible." '_Well, that explained where the hell he's been going._' Oddly enough, the teen wasn't comforted by this thought at all. "I even talked with some of your friends. None of them have… Any recollection of you, it'd seem."

"And where am I going to be staying exactly?" Sarcasm was bubbling in his mouth. The King's lips pressed into a hard line. Without warning the mouse started to walk forward, ushering both Sora and the Queen further down the steps. Within seconds they were immersed in bright, colorful lights. The flashing gizmos and launching box was alive with odd noises and squeaking – two very familiar chipmunks presented themselves on the windowsill of their 'office'.

"Hey Sora!" Dan's bright nose caught his attention first, than his shrill voice. "We got it allllll ready for ya!"

Sora tried to smile, but couldn't.

"Where am I staying, King Mickey?" The teen felt like an anxiety attack was on the way. The closer they got to the orange-and-yellow spacecraft the harder it was to breathe. The mouse was still ushering them though, so he couldn't just stop. Once they reached the opening of the metal contraption, however, and he'd still gotten no response, Sora forcibly halted. He swiveled around to face King Mickey, discovering from a slanted glance that Queen Minnie had stopped walking quite some time ago. Her back was to him.

Sora could make out her soft sniffling.

"You'll be reporting to the Children Service's department." The brunet's insides iced over at this. "The customs of the people of your world are hard to understand... It took me quite some time to get a grasp of it." Sora felt no sympathy for him. '_Children Service's department…_' The teen had heard of kids that went there – kids whose parents had died, and there were no relatives to take them in. Kids who were taken from their parents were brought there – kids from _abusive_ homes, from _drug-addicts_, from _unsuitable _environments…

The term was so… So _normal_ that it was abnormal to him. And hearing King Mickey use these words made it even stranger. _Was this another dream or something_?

"I have someone posing as a social worker there who will get you situated where you want to live." '_Well thanks_.' "Whether it's on the Islands you came from, with your mom or… In a totally new family. You don't even have to be in contact with your childhood friends. You could live on the mainland – the cities there are amazing Sora!" Sora's mind reeled back through his memories, easily recalling his one and only trip to one of the mainland cities. Giant buildings... Sky-scrapers, they'd called them.

He felt like a foreigner.

"Once you've decided where you want to stay there is no going back." Mickey was waving his gloved hand at him, frowning. "My friend is only doing this as a favor; once it's done, it's done. He'll leave and the world will be locked." The small being crossed his arms over his tiny chest, nodding at him. Sora hated how casual the King was trying to make this – like he'd leave and everyone would go back to their old ways before this whole mess had even _started _and they'd all be happy.

'_Everyone but me_.' Sora hadn't had a selfish moment for the last four years – he'd been selfless, trying to help people, and the one thing he wanted he couldn't have?

The brunet was tempted to open his mouth and say this, but nothing came out. _Nothing that wanted to come out, anyways_.

"Okay." '_Is that the best you can do? Okay? OKAY?_'

"SORA!" The teen blinked furiously, looking up from the two mice to see his best friends approaching. Goofy was running in his normal lopsided manner, while Donald was just behind him, webbed feet smacking into the ground noisily. "SORA! Did ya _REALLY_ think ya could leave without saying goodbye first?"

Goofy had tears smeared along his muzzle. Before the brunet could respond, however, the dog managed to trip on _nothing_ and fell flat on his face. Donald, the ever-loyal duck that he was, just ran past him and literally leapt into his arms. Sora barely had time to open his arms before the small figure was crushed against him, ducky-accent so strong that he honestly had no idea what he was squabbling. He was trembling against him like a vibrator. By the time Sora was able to regain his balance, another set of arms were around him and _he_ was being crushed into a chest.

It was hard to breathe again, but this time for a _good_ reason. Tears burned their way into the corners of his eyes, but he batted them away, blinking quickly.

"We don't w-want you to leave, Sora," Donald's words were finally understandable. "But we all know it's for the best. We'll still be friends." The duck had stopped sobbing, though Sora could still feel him shake between his and Goofy's chests.

"Yeah, I know guys. We'll still be friends, and we'll see each other again." For the first time over the last two days, Sora managed to smile. Before any other words could be let out though, he suddenly felt an odd pressure against his stomach – it took him several seconds to realize that Donald was thudding his webbed feet against him, forcing Goofy and himself to spread apart. The duck landed on his rump between them, breathing in deeply.

He'd been suffocating.

Sora couldn't help it: he started laughing, _hard_, as Donald's chest heaved inward and outward. Within a matter of seconds they were all laughing – the King, Queen Minnie, Goofy, the chipmunks, and finally even Donald.

And then, all too soon, he was backing up into the Gummi ship and the door was closing. Even through the sealed entrance he could make out their voices, some of their words, though most of it was muffled and made no sense.

"Goodbye Sora!"

"We'll miss you!"

"We'll see you again!"

"Have a good time!"

_That's what he imagined they were saying, anyways_.

Sora leaned back in his seat, letting his cheek and face press against the window of the craft. He saw all of them waving at him, their figures growing more and more distant as the ship was launched into space. Normally he would've been seated in front of a steering wheel; this time, though, the Gummi ship was self-programmed with a one-way destination.

Mickey was smart, he'd give him that.

Letting loose a sigh, Sora let his eyes shut.

This time, he didn't bother hoping it'd hold the tears back.

* * *

_**End Prologue**_

* * *

**A/N:** Woo. Finished. Hope you all liked this.

**Special Note:** I'm sure some of the more in-depth readers are thinking: "How was Naminé created if Kairi was never involved?" Well. This will be explained more later on, but here's a loose version: while I stated that Kairi was never involved with Sora's life after he left on his journey (she did remain on Destiny Islands), however, Sora did return there briefly when he was fighting Ansem, if ya'll remember. I'll let common sense fill in the rest.

Like I said above, **I posted this story under the Penname ** a few months back before pulling it due to some real life issues, and me not having access to the internet. I decided after reading it that this story and the ideas I had planned for it was too good to be ignored and not finished. If you don't believe it's me, feel free to send me a message through that username and I'll gladly respond saying it's me.

I have the next few chapters prepared, but I'm looking for some feedback – it's what inspires us writers to keep going. I'll post the next chapter tomorrow or possibly even later today.

By the way, I'm aware that Sora seems uncharacteristically negative in this prologue. He'll lighten up considerably, don't worry - he's just going through a lot currently. How would you feel if you'd been on his adventure, and then were told you'd have to give it all up to live a dismal life on Earth?

Hope you all enjoyed,

- Devilbiter.

R&R.


	2. Ch 1: Reality

**Disclaimer:** I do not, in any way, shape or form, own Kingdom Hearts or the Disney movies associated with it.

**Author's Note: **

I'm sure a lot of people were really unsure of the whole "Mickey talking about Children Service's" bit; take that feeling and apply it as to how Sora felt hearing something like that coming from him. Sora's being ripped from this fantasy reality and being put back on a normal world, kind of like our own. I'm not saying Destiny Islands isn't "special" like the other worlds, but it'd be like one of us going and doing what Sora did, and then coming back to Earth.

I wanted to make that strong of an impression as to the differences that he is about to be subject to.

Thanks for reading the note.

"Speaking."

'_Thoughts_.'

_Flashback/Dream_.

I decided to upload the second chapter seeing as how I already have several chapters done from before when I'd been working on it.

Enjoy.

* * *

**Chapter 1: Reality**

Nothing quite as refreshing as a cold dose of it, no?

* * *

_The first thing I saw was the water. _

_The depth of the blue that it provided me with was breathtaking, especially once the sun began to descend on the other side of the horizon. Like the turn of a page, the sky's clear, crystal-blue tone began to blemish, contorting into a wide array of reds and oranges. Even though I knew that eventually the sky would settle on the dark, navy-blue of nightfall, I couldn't stop from marveling at the beautiful pastel colors that was presently looming before us._

_The fainting light lit up the ocean for a brief, crystal-clear moment, almost making it possible for me to see through the surface of it. We weren't too far away now – probably five more minutes worth of walking and we'd finally make it to the water's edge._

_I picked up my pace._

_I didn't think I'd ever seen anything like it before, which was sad, I thought, considering I'd been through so many worlds at this point, trying to find Te-._

"_Aqua," I grinned, trying and failing to control my excitement. I turned to look over at her; like usual she appeared remotely disinterested, though she too couldn't resist smiling. Whether this was because my own smile was contagious (she'd told me this before) or because she was secretly excited too, I couldn't tell. She followed my line of sight as I nodded towards the water –although she looked pleased by the sight of it, I was sort of disappointed that she wasn't as excited._

"_Have you ever seen anything like it before?"I asked loudly. She chuckled._

_So what if I sounded childish? - I was still a kid._

_Weren't she and Te- always telling me that?_

"_You act like you've never seen water V-." My cheeks burned at her derogatory tone. _

"_Well at least one of us will enjoy it. Maybe we'll meet some new people."_

"_You got to stay focused," Aqua clicked her tongue, though her smile was still in place. I could feel her eyes on me now. "We're here for a reason, remember? Not on a vacation."_

"_Yeah," I sighed. "I know."_

_Shoving this to the back of mind I rushed forward, leaving her behind to walk in the sand while I finally hit the water. Not bothering to strip, I simply waded into the approaching waves. A rush of exhilaration hit me as the water washed over my legs. It was cold, but it still felt good._

"_Hey! Wait for me V-" I didn't hear the last of her call though, because the second she started to say my name I was already diving under the water. By the time she would've finally reached the water's edge, I was already several yards under the tide, staring at what little of the water-world was exposed to me in the dying sunlight. I didn't feel bad leaving her behind._

_I only had a few minutes to myself before it was time to return to the reality above the water's surface._

_Slowly I shut my eyes, contentment washing over me. It seemed to press down over me like the waves rolling above – I didn't feel consumed though, just relaxed. My muscles loosened; I spread my arms out and let myself float._

_I couldn't hear anything, see anything. The only thing I felt was the cool, constant brush of the seawater rushing along my body._

_No voices. No one telling me what to do. No jobs. No new orders. No new training._

_Nothing._

_For once I felt nothing I didn't want to feel. It was a good feeling._

_It was going to be a good day._

* * *

Sora's squinted his eyes, hesitantly gripping his satchel's strap with one hand and his suitcase – yes, a _suitcase_ – in his other. Occasionally he glanced back over his shoulder at the beach, stomach sinking the further away his Gummi ship got. He knew he would've seemed odd to the random passerby if they'd caught sight of him: a teenager slowly walking up the beach towards the road, donned in a casual gray suit with a dirty-brown satchel thrown over his shoulder and a suitcase in his hand.

Even he hadn't been gone so long as to think that something like this would've been a normal sight. Sora knew he was a mess, clothing and carry-on's aside. He knew this because he'd looked at himself in the water after his ship had landed, and after about ten minutes of trying to get his hair to settle even a _little_, he'd given up, and had simply grabbed his crap and gotten out of there.

Sora'd been telling himself he didn't care if anyone saw him, but it didn't stop his mind from wandering.

Most people - if they'd caught sight of him - probably would've continued driving after pegging him as some sort of lunatic. They probably would've accused him of being high. One of the nicer passerby's might've felt sorry for him; an old lady, Sora mused, might've stopped and asked him if he was alright.

The teen was glad only one person took notice of him. That person arrived nearly a half hour 'til midnight, pulling over onto the vista point where Sora was to be found, slumped over on a bench, staring at the ocean's edge. Water was lapping along the pale sand – drawing in, then out – teasingly coaxing him to return to its edge. He'd been tempted to give in to this urge several times, but always wound up sitting back down, looking down the empty road before him.

Sora wondered briefly what this man looked like. _Or her_. The escort could be female. For some reason he doubted this, given the only woman the teen had ever seen Mickey associate with on a regular basis was Queen Minnie.

Sapphire-toned irises glanced up at the sound of the car. His lips pursed once he saw what it was: some sort of black, sleek-looking number. It looked more like something a businessman would drive, rather than someone who was cruising along the beach for luxury purposes. Or someone who was on the lookout for a kid from another planet. '_Is this him?_' Nervous butterflies blossomed in his stomach as whoever it was pulled over, before quickly opening the driver's door. The lights were shut off next – it was the first sign that made the teen think that whoever this was _wasn't_ the person he was waiting for. Instinctively Sora's fingers clenched, prepared to launch a jet of flame if the being proved to be a threat – and then he stopped, chiding himself, face paling as the realization of what he'd just about _done_ settled over him.

Shooting fire… Hell, shooting _anything_ at anyone was a stupid idea.

"Better get a grip on that you know." The voice was unfamiliar to him. Sora squinted his eyes again, trying to make out the figure against the shadow of the vehicle. Whoever it was was leaning against the frame of it, patting around his pockets, looking for something. "The people who live on this world would be really freaked out if they started seeing people summon elements as weapons." The man chuckled. There was a flicking noise – a grinding of metal – before a small flame arose and lit a cigarette. A few ashes fell to the ground moments later.

The brunet scowled, cheeks burning. He was suddenly thankful that the car lights weren't on, even if it obscured his vision of the other person. "Are you the guy the King was sending to pick me up?"

"_Maybe_." He was grinning, he could just hear it. "What's it to you?"

Sora's mouth dried. "Because I'd like to get this over with. You were supposed to be here when I arri-"

"Listen, kid." The man's tone shut him up. He almost started to summon his keyblade but stopped. '_Get a grip. He can't hurt you_.' Probably just some old man. Some stupid, stupid old man. "Mickey didn't give me a time. Just said: 'be here late in the day, Sora's gonna be showing up'. That was the last I heard. You're lucky as hell I bothered showing up, you know that?" Sora didn't respond. He simply stood there, mouth agape in shock.

"Last I heard from the King was two months ago. Wasn't even sure if any of this was still going to happen." _He_ wasn't sure if he was more annoyed at the fact that the guy King Mickey had sent to help him out was a total lazy-ass, or that the man himself sounded annoyed to even be here. Didn't he know who he _was_?

"You going to say something or are you gonna stand there gaping like a fish?"

There was something interestingly familiar about the male's attitude, but he couldn't quite place it.

Sora clamped his mouth shut, cheeks burning from embarrassment. He hadn't realized how long the silence had drawn out between them. "Let's just go," he said finally. The brunet didn't bother trying to smile – he didn't feel like putting the energy out for someone like this.

"Sounds good." Deciding not to respond verbally for fear of tempting more casual insults, he simply grabbed his suitcase and stood up before approaching the car. He honestly hadn't been expecting any help from the stranger, and his assumption was correct for once: the man simply returned to his front seat, hit the button for the trunk (Sora jumped when the thing snapped open) at which the teen put his items in it, closed it, before rounding back around to get inside the back seat.

He felt _odd_.

That was the only word he could've used to describe how he felt at that moment. He felt _odd_, being in a _car_. It felt _odd_ having cool leather pressed against his back – it felt _odd_ not having gloves on. It felt _odd_ wearing slacks and a plain button-up shirt rather than his normal jumpsuit. Sora flexed his fingers after pulling his seatbelt over him and securing it. There was no steady stream of magic pulsing through him like before. His right palm was tingling however, and shoots of electricity jutting up throughout his body – the sensation of being in danger was wracking through his system, body obviously perceiving the current situation as a threat to his well being. Sora found this remotely ironic, given that this was supposed to be_ home_ and yet his body was acting like it was entering a battleground.

Light flooded the car when it turned on. It gave Sora a chance to look at his escort (what a joke_ that_ was), and found himself unpleasantly surprised to discover that it wasn't an old man at all. While the person was no one he knew, he still wasn't anything like he'd been picturing in his mind over the last hour or so.

Obnoxiously red hair was cropped short over a tan face. He was oddly dark-skinned for someone of his hair color, but upon closer inspection, Sora couldn't help but deem that it looked relatively natural despite how strange the combination was. The man was clothed in a dark suit as well, though it made what Sora was wearing look like trash: a full button-up black suit was on him, jacket included. Only a tease of white was shown around the man's collar. From his position the teen couldn't make out too much else – his eyes were left for him muse over, simply because the guy was wearing sunglasses.

Sunglasses at midnight.

Sora's lips twitched upwards.

If he had to guess on looks alone… The brunet cocked his head to the right to get one more look at him before the car's inner lights dimmed.

Maybe 25.

"What's your name?" He asked as the car finally began to move. Sora was surprised to feel how much he cared to know. Maybe it was because this asshole was his first human encounter after returning – as temporary as the relationship would be – but he wanted to know.

"Reggie." Sora blinked. He saw Reggie tilt his head up, sunglasses angled to look up at the rear-view mirror. "Reggie Coosko."

"That your real name or?"

"Yeah."

An awkward silence settled between them after that, though Reggie didn't seem particularly bothered by it. Sora was half-tempted to ask him if he'd turn the radio on, but stopped. He had more questions to get answered first.

"Where are we at anyways?"

"Hillsand Beach." His brows drew together at this; he'd never heard of it before.

"What city are we going to anyways?" Sora asked next. The man flicked his cigarette out the window before answering.

"Bellaire." That was remotely familiar at least. Satisfied, the teen leaned back in his seat.

"How do you know King Mickey?" Sora asked this as innocently as he could. The response he received was less-than satisfactorily, however. He heard the redhead breathe in deeply, obviously annoyed at his persistent questions.

"Listen kid." Sora's lips flattened into a thin line at the nickname. "As much as I'd love to get to know the Great Keyblade Master and have you make me feel happy and dandy as so many claim you can do," he felt as if he'd just been slapped. Sora glared away from the redhead and stared out the window. "- and make me spill everything about my life and situation to you, I'm really not interested. I can get a therapist if I need one."

Several minutes of silence passed, before… "Aren't you leaving though?"

"What do you mean?" The wooded area that'd surrounded the beach that Sora had been at was thinning. Silently the brunet rolled his window down and hunched up against the door, poking his head as far out as he could to see: the forest was splitting away, revealing the city he'd visited as a child all those years ago.

It was enormous. Building after building crowded a vast amount of land – it was far bigger than the towns and villages that Sora had been accustomed to over the last four years. Lights lit up the majority of it – sky scrapers very nearly seemed to touch the sky. _And the smell_… The _smell_ was just as polluted as he'd remembered it. He didn't know why, but this actually made him smile.

"…hello? Yo, kiddo. What do you mean 'aren't you leaving though'?"

Sora blinked.

"The King said you were leaving once I got situated." He tore his eyes away from the metropolis they were approaching to stare at the man, confused. "Aren't you leaving?"

"Oh." Blue eyes narrowed at the other's off-handed tone. "Yeah. I'm leaving."

"What world are you from anyways?" An uncomfortably long silence passed between them before Reggie shrugged.

"World you've never been to, I'm sure." Sora scoffed but accepted the answer. That wasn't very likely, but he wasn't going to persist with the topic.

He returned to staring out the window, eyes growing wide as they finally breached the city limits. Other cars were passing by them now and Sora couldn't stop the fascination from flooding him. For several moments he felt normal. _Normal_. Like nothing had ever changed in his small world. Like he was with his mom in the backseat of their car, driving to the city for the first time, prepared to take on a new adventure.

And then Reggie spoke again. "You'll be staying at my apartment for the night. Then to the office, where we'll find you a place to live." Sora just nodded dumbly, still far-too transfixed with the city. "You thought about where you want to live? The Island you were living on was closed off while you were gone, you know."

The brunet rolled up his window. His stomach was beginning to clench; he suddenly felt sick. Sora wanted to ask if anyone thought about gently breaking all this news to him, instead of dumping it on him like King Mickey (and now Reggie) seemed to enjoy doing. The redhead continued casually, moments later. "Not because of the Heartless or the Nobodies. A tidal wave just crashed into it." _At least this wasn't the result of their influence_. That was a good thing at least, right? At least it'd happened naturally - and it wasn't all that uncommon. Rationalizing wasn't helping the queasiness, so he just let his mind shut down and listen to Reggie talk.

Sora didn't say anything, so finally Reggie continued. "Knocked out some of the little town-houses there… they'd shut down the school two years ago though. Weren't enough kids for them to bother keeping it open. Everyone's moved in or near the city."

'_And what about our little island?_' Sora wanted to ask. It was too personal though, even if the two he'd gone out there most with didn't even remember his first name. He knew he wouldn't come to total terms with that until he actually saw Riku and Kairi again, and they both greeted him as a stranger rather than as a long-lost friend. Well,_ if_ he saw them. "You can still go out to the string of islands around there. You did that a lot as a kid, right?"

Sora slowly glanced back up at the driver. For someone who didn't want to divulge anything about himself, he sure as hell knew a lot about _him_. He didn't know whether this made him uncomfortable or not – if he should be surprised or not. A lot of people tended to know things about him, but not stuff that was from his childhood, long before he was chosen by the keyblade.

If Sora didn't know any better he'd almost want to say that Reggie wasn't a foreigner at all to this world.

Instead of answering the brunet just fell silent. He leaned back in his leather seat, forehead pressed against the window, eyes dutifully drinking in the remotely-busy streets. Late-night shoppers and meanderers were out and about. Occasionally they'd pass (what Sora assumed) was a night club or bar – neon lights blinked back at him. He was sure if he'd had his window rolled back down he'd have heard music.

Shop windows were dully-lit up, showing off clothes and other accessories. A few restaurants were still open – the small café that his mother had taken him to was still up and running apparently, though the closed sign was in its window.

Sora took everything in as if he was dreaming. It all seemed so surreal; it was all familiar to him of course, but it felt so unnatural to be seeing it in person. He honestly never thought he would again.

It all really didn't hit him until Reggie finally pulled over into a ritzy-looking complex and parked near the back of it. Sora didn't have a chance to look it over thoroughly however, for the second the car was placed in park he opened his door, got out, took in one breath, and then he was suddenly holding onto the passenger door while hunching over, spilling all the contents of his stomach onto the pavement before his eyes rolled to the back of his head and his body collapsed to the ground.

Though Sora believed he imagined this, he could've sworn he heard a sarcastic "_great_" before falling unconscious.

* * *

Red numbers glaring at him from a nearby nightstand was what he'd awoken to. It'd been barely two feet from his face – Sora liked to use this as his excuse for trying to jump up and out of bed. It was also his reason for summoning a fistful of fire and making the small alarm clock explode.

Currently at 4:27 in the morning, the famed keyblade master found himself on his hands and knees, scrambling around to pick up as many of the small plastic pieces as quickly as possible. While any normal person would've waited until they'd woken up later on, the brunette wasn't going to chance Reggie striding into his room unannounced (if he was even in the apartment) and discovering what he'd done. Although Sora didn't know the man personally, he got the feeling that he'd have used this as a reason to complain for the remainder of time that he'd be in his company.

So, knees stiff and arms shaky from lack of sleep, his aching eyes darted along the white-carpeted floor, trying to spot any pieces that he'd missed. A small pile that he'd collected had already been placed on the modestly-sized bed, which had been beckoning for him to return beneath its covers for the last… Hour?

Sora sighed.

Although he was tired still, it was more of an irksome sensation of being dead-awake than anything. While his body was exhausted, his mind was too restless to let him sleep for anything longer than a few minutes. If he was being honest with himself he doubted that he'd be able to fall back to sleep again once he got into the bed. Still, he tried.

Thinking about what happened and how he'd wound up in the bed he was lying in didn't help anything either. For several minutes he tossed and turned, breathing in deeply only to release the oxygen as a heady-sigh. Sora'd gone over the whole mishap in his head several times, and each passing second he spent grinding over his "falling unconscious" scenario, the redder his face got.

'_Can't believe I did that._' The teen bit his bottom lip, squinting his eyes shut tightly. '_My god, what is he going to think of me? Sora, the Great Wimpy Keyblade Master who can't hold his composure because of a little stress._'

After a half hour of simply lying in the foreign bed however, Sora had had enough. The lamp on the nightstand was touch-sensitive, and had washed light over the small room. It was plain. Extremely so. The only piece of furniture besides the bed and the nightstands (as well as a single mirror hanging on the wall directly in front of him) was a bookshelf. Ironically though, not a single book was placed upon it.

The brunet had avoided leaving the room since he'd awoken. That was about to change. Slowly Sora swung his feet over the bed and got up, treading towards the only door connecting his room to elsewhere. Pressing it open cautiously, the only sight that was met before him was a dimly-lit living room. It too was bare of anything personal. In fact, if he had to guess, it looked more like a ready-to-move-in apartment than it did something that was, or had been, occupied by a tenant for awhile.

Sora's body relaxed, albeit slowly, as he realized that nobody was in the living room either. The layout of the apartment, he soon discovered, was relatively simple: besides the door leading into the room he'd just left and a small open kitchen (that was connected directly to the living room, not separated), there were two other doors on either side of his own (which was easy to assume was another bedroom where Reggie was sleeping, and a bathroom). And then, directly across from the bedroom doors was one final door. Nothing was separating him from it except a single couch and coffee table – these too were nothing lavish. There were no pictures for him to look at – no books, no T.V., no stereo…

It was perfectly bare.

Sora made his way across the room and unlatched the lock on the solitary door before opening it. Light washed over him as he stood there, blinking, glancing first to the right and then the left. It was a hallway.

_Apartment complex. Right_.

A sense of disappointment filled him. He wasn't sure what he'd been expecting by opening the door, but it hadn't been something so… normal. Or abnormal. Was any of this normal to him anymore, really?

The teen slowly turned around and shut the door again. After locking it, Sora drifted towards the kitchen. It was spotless, as he'd predicted. Definitely modernized with granite and solid-white tile, there wasn't a single spec of dirt to be found. Not a single dish was present on the counters or in the sink either – after several seconds of cheeky debate he prodded open the dishwasher. He rolled his eyes when he discovered it was empty. The brunet then proceeded to open all of the white-wood cupboards, and found himself staring in dismay at the food that was there: tofu, peanuts (not peanut butter, but _peanuts_) low-calorie containers full of that protein-shake stuff.

The more Sora saw, the more his gut sunk.

At the last cupboard just before the fridge, he spotted something that caught his eye: a box of pancake mixture.

Casting one last glance over his shoulder at the two doors that were still closed, Sora reached up and grabbed it.

He was hungry – what else was there to do?

* * *

"Let's go."

"I'm not even done eating." A hand closed around his wrist, dragging him out the front door before he could continue his protest. "Can't you just let me finish eat-"

"I didn't say you could eat my food. I don't care."

Sora glared at him, burning with righteous anger. "And what were you expecting me to do exactly? Starve?"

Reggie paused at that (though it might've been because they reached the elevator, Sora wasn't sure), turning to glare down at him through green orbs. _He'd seen eyes like his before,_ Sora thought to himself suddenly, before he found himself wilting under the stifling gaze. "That would've been an option. Next time you stay at a stranger's house make sure you keep your hands to yourself. Ask before touching."

"There wasn't even anything to touch. Your entire place is _bare _of anything."

The redhead shrugged, pulling him into the elevator once it opened. Sora's satchel was strung over his shoulder while his suitcase was being held in Reggie's own hand. "After puking in my car and on my parking space, do you really have any right to tell me how to decorate my apartment?" The brunet's lips parted and closed several times at this, wanting nothing more than to return with a witty comeback – nothing came to him though, so instead of standing there gaping like a fish as he had last night, he simply clamped his mouth shut and glared as the metal doors shut. Sora tried to ignore the blush fighting to make its way onto his cheeks.

_So much for Reggie magically forgetting about that_.

Only twenty minutes into his attempt at making breakfast the fire alarm had gone off.

The only reason the fire alarm had gone off was because… _Well_…

Sora glanced away from his companion, scowling. _Whatever_.

"I was going to make you some too you know."

The redhead didn't respond. He appeared to be fuming still, if the whiteness of his knuckles were to suggest anything.

"I've heard a lot of things about you, you know." Reggie was speaking quickly as the elevator opened up. Sora walked out without needing to be guided – he started for the familiar black car he'd been in last night, not even bothering to look around. It was lightening up some already, but he'd seen all that he needed to last night. "I'd heard you were kind of naïve, but I didn't think you were stupid."

Sora's chest tightened. He felt as if he'd been struck in the stomach; again though, he didn't retaliate. It'd been some time since he'd felt like someone just really didn't like him – it was more than that though. The brunet almost felt as if Reggie despised him, and he didn't even _know_ him.

He sat in the back seat as he had last night, though he kept his suitcase and satchel with him. The man didn't say anything once he was inside the car, and prolonged the silence until they were very nearly at the building Sora had seen before but never believed he'd one day visit.

_Children's Services_ was a two-story building with a theatre-sized parking lot. The structure itself was cream in color, while the entire front of it (including the entrance) was made almost entirely of glass. One could easily see the waiting chairs in the lobby, as well as hallways that lead into various rooms just from the parking lot.

Despite the welcoming openness that it held to it, Sora felt far from comfortable approaching the double-doors. Not that he had much choice, however, for Reggie was quick to get out and open his door. Perhaps the nicest thing he'd seen the male do – excluding carrying his unconscious body to his apartment and throwing him in his bed – the brunet almost felt obligated to get out of his own free will.

"So how is this going to be done anyways?" Sora kept his voice low. His insides were squirming anxiously as they stepped inside. The clock on the check-in desk read 7:05 A.M.

"Your parents died in a fire one week ago. Haven't been able to find a placement home until now. You're sixteen. You're smart." Reggie's voice became remotely sarcastic on that last 'fact' about Sora. "You have no relatives." '_At least that was true_,' he thought darkly. "And you're taking your parents death well. I was even nice enough to provide you with a small amount of insurance money."

"_Thanks_."

Reggie glanced down at him as they finally made it to the check-in desk, where a rather bored, full-sized woman with primp brown hair and succulent almond eyes smiled up at them. "Mr. Cookso!" Her gaze drifted over towards him next. The second that the lady's eyes fell on him Sora felt himself relaxing. Albeit the fact that she wasn't anyone he knew, there was a gentleness to her smile that reminded him of his mother.

"And you must be Sora. Heard a lot about you. It's good to see you're handling everything well." Sora's smile was limp. "Head on back sweetie. Mr. Cookso will take right care of you. Everything'll be alright." Her smile persisted even as they walked beyond the lobby room and headed straight for a room labeled 201. Upon opening it, it became apparent to Sora that this room was for 'meetings'. A circular table was surrounded by three or four chairs – near the center was a file, with a sticky-note attached to it.

_Sora Hikari files. P.S. Good luck Cookso!_

Sora slumped in one of the seats, looking away from it. He had no interest in looking at the details of his fake life.

"Don't even want to take a peek?" Reggie was grinning as he sat down across from him. He flipped through a few pages in the file, though it still didn't tempt the brunette into looking at them. Finally the redhead's smile began to slip, as if he was disappointed by Sora's lack of response. "Well fine then. Here's a list of families you can stay with. They're looking to adopt a teenager who's had a sad life. The pity-schemers, you know. Rich people dig troubled kids to make themselves look good."

A paper slid across the table at him.

Sora finally looked over at the white sheet.

"You should be glad." Reggie leaned back in his seat. "Most kids don't even get a choice to where they live. You're practically being handed what even NORMAL kids would love to have: a choice of a family."

The teen tuned him out as he glanced over the list. He didn't bother looking at the details of any of them.

"Those families have been looking for a kid for awhile. I picked out only the best families. Mickey's insistence." There was a tinge of disappointment to his tone that Sora hated.

"Where is she?" The teen asked quietly. Reggie blinked at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Where's her name?" This time, it seemed to catch on.

"Your mom? She actually did host some kids for awhile… Was hoping to adopt one, not having had any of her own." This time, the redhead seemed to have realized after he'd finished speaking that he'd stepped too far. He was quick to recuperate. "She submitted a letter awhile back stating she didn't want to host a foster kid unless we 'felt it was extremely necessary'. That," Reggie's tone quieted some as he stared at Sora, "and I got the impression from Mickey you probably wouldn't have wanted to see her anymore."

"Said you didn't talk about anyone here anymore," he continued. "I figured you'd have wanted to really start over Sora. Isn't that what you want to do?" It was the first time he'd actually called him by his first name, Sora realized.

The teen remained quiet for several minutes, staring blankly at the paper. He'd thought over what Mickey had told him countless times on the flight back here. Whether he wanted to see his mother again. See Riku and Kairi and Wakka and Selphie. More than once, he'd wondered whether he wanted to go through the pain of seeing the blankness that'd be in her eyes as she looked at him. There'd be no recognition in them – in any of their gazes, the second they saw him.

_It wouldn't bother them in the slightest if they never saw him again. After all, to them, Sora Hikari had never even existed._

That foreign emotion that he'd felt back in Mickey's Castle, just before they'd made it to the Gummi launch-pad, hit him again _hard_. Resentment bubbled through his chest, though it was stronger and more intense than he'd ever felt before.

Did he want to go through the pain just to be around them again?

"Sora?"

Or was it best to just let it go and spare himself some unneeded pain?

Blue eyes stared blankly at the white sheet before him.

Kano Delán. Age 35. Occupation: C.E.O. of Sorelle Inc.

Family: Spouse Teah Delán. Age 26.

No children.

Seeking teenager, ages 13-16.

Male or Female desirable.

Special Note: Would prefer a child of an orphanage background or something similar; no mentally-challenged children nor children that've been exposed to drug and/or alcoholic abuse.

_Money_.

_Attention._

Sora flipped to the next page.

Dianna Waters. Age 46. Occupation: Orthodontist.

Family: None.

No children.

Seeking child of any age range.

Male desirable.

Special Note: Just want someone to give a comfortable life to.

_Security_.

"Do you need time to think this over?" Reggie's cool composure seemed to be slipping as he stared down at the brunet. He'd dealt with plenty of kids in his situation (not exactly his situation, but the 'fake' predicament he was in), and never before had he met a kid that was hesitant about making a decision.

Usually they were screamers from what he'd seen of his time here. Kids who weren't handling their situation at all – kids who didn't think they should really have to leave their abusive parents. And when they weren't screamers, they were generally quiet. Too quiet. The type of kids who wound up cutting themselves or causing bodily harm.

The teen before him struck him as neither of the typical stereotypes. Reggie couldn't quite figure him out – couldn't quite decipher his _open book_ personality.

"I want to stay with my mom." Sora's head was cast-down as he spoke this. His hair was dangling over his eyes; from the blonde's position he could just barely make out his blue orbs. It made him uncomfortable thinking that the brunet might start crying.

Those were the worst.

"Alright then," Reggie sighed, leaning up in his chair. Casually he folded his arms over his chest, staring at Sora carefully. "I'll send a notice to her. I haven't sent anyone her way since she submitted that document – I'll make sure she's here. Might take a day or two though" He pursed his lips. "And possibly some convincing if she's unwilling. How old is Sonya anyways?"

"Thirty-three."

"Teenage mom?"

Sora glanced to the side. His voice was barely above a whisper when he said: "yeah".

* * *

**Sonya – Three Days Later**

* * *

The timer went off just when she'd expected it to. It only took a few seconds for her to reach it and turn it off before it went nuts reminding her to check on the cake. Several times she'd left her task upstairs to double-check on the cake, even if she knew deep-down inside that it_ just_ wasn't done yet. Sonya was Sonya though, and a worry-wart of a person she was.

A white "Kiss the Cook" apron was tied about her thin figure, finished off in a bow that rested just above her rump. Familiar chocolate-brown hair was pulled up into a bun, though a few persistent strands had managed to come loose and fall over a heart-shaped face. They framed and lit up her sand-brown irises, which were by far the most-complimented of her features. Currently, the small woman was adorned in plain blue jeans with a yellow blouse. Other than a light dash of makeup and a paopu-fruit pendant chained around her neck, there was little else to look at.

She was a simple woman, yet content.

The kitchen she was in resembled her just the same: while it was small, it was brightly-lit with the natural sunlight that poured in from the windows. The walls were painted a cheery sunny-yellow, while white tile covering both the ground as well as the counters. A few pictures of herself and her parents hung along the walls – similar décor would've been found throughout the comfortable two-story home.

"Shoot!" The woman sucked in a sharp breath as jerked herself upright, blowing on her finger. Within seconds she had the faucet running, her hand stuck under the cool water to abate some of the burn from settling in. Before long she was resuming her task: pulling the bake-pan out of the oven and setting it on the counter.

Sonya's eyes drifted towards the clock above the stove, biting her bottom lip. Almost _noon_.

Almost time.

Although she'd housed several foster children over the last few years, the brunette hadn't quite gotten over the jitters of meeting this new child. Not that she wasn't excited this time around, but given the situation that she'd read in the file on the boy whom she was taking in, the woman honestly wasn't sure how to take it. There'd only been one case of when she'd taken in another child – another teenager, actually – who'd just gone through something as traumatic as this: a girl named Tara who'd been abused by both of her parents.

Sonya shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts of the whole encounter. Just thinking about it made her feel upset, which wasn't what she needed to be focusing on. Not when she was preparing to bring another child into her life that'd gone through just as much – if not more – emotional trauma as Tara had over the last week.

'_He must feel awful_,' she mused, breathing in deeply. Once she'd finished removing the pastry from its pan and had set it on a decorator-plate to cool, the woman turned and made-way towards the living room through the archway.

The house really was quite tiny: it barely hit a grand total of fifteen hundred square feet. The first floor was composed entirely of the living room, a bathroom, as well as the small kitchen and an extra-small office that Sonya almost never used. Up a narrow staircase found directly beside the front door was a hallway decorated with more family photos. Uniquely enough, while the first story was (literally) in the shape of a square, the second story was entirely rounded, like a miniature lighthouse. The second floor was divided in a semi-circle: either side used as the two bedrooms of the house while at the end of the hall was the second bathroom.

With the insurance money she'd received after her house had been totaled by the tidal wave, Sonya had had just enough to both build herself a brand-new home on the outskirts of town near the beach, as well as put a lease on the current building she worked in: _Beach Bakings_.

Her father would've been proud that she'd finally pursued her dream, and successfully-so.

Though she'd accomplished nothing too spectacular in her life, she was content. Happy.

Sonya hummed pleasantly as she stepped into the living room, glancing it over with a sharp, critical eye: nothing looked out of place. She wasn't one to claim that she was a spotlessly-clean person (she got sloppy often herself; came with the type of work she did), but she'd done her best to make everything as presentable as possible. A teal-blue couch blended well with the cedar flooring below it; it was facing the front door. Before it was a small wooden coffee table – cracks and grooves were melded along the surface of it, showing years of long, loving usage.

Resting on a small entertainment center was a T.V., DVDs stacked on a rack beside it. A loveseat was nestled in the far corner of the room, positioned just perfectly beside a large window that overlooked the beach. It was only a ten-minute walk to actually hit the sand, something Sonya appreciated.

The petite woman slowly pressed herself down into the loveseat, resting her chin against her palm, staring out at the lapping waves.

'_Sora._'

Something warm settled in her chest. Was it empathy? Sympathy? Sonya's other hand curled up to press against her chest, fingers clenching into a fist.

"Sora." '_A pretty name_.' She wondered what he looked like. The more she concentrated on it, the more ideas and images came to mind. It was a game she liked to play just before she went and saw the child.

'_Definitely a brunette…_' She couldn't picture someone blonde being called Sora, nor someone with dark hair. Not that it wouldn't have fit, but brown locks were what came to her, so she stuck with it. '_Green eyes?_'

No, that reminded her of the neighbor's child, Riku.

'_Blue,_' Sonya's lips pulled up into a gentle smile. '_Blue like the ocean, right Sora?_' The water was slowly drawing back out to sea as she watched. Eyes growing lidded, she breathed in deeply several times. A warm press of contentment slid over her as she thought over it.

Sonya remained where she was for several more minutes, simply drinking in the beauty of the morning sunlight hitting the water. Before she knew it, however, it was nearly time to get going. Quickly she returned to the kitchen, her version of what she felt Sora looked like playing in her mind as she iced the cake. Once she'd finished, the brunette tucked it away in the fridge before heading outside.

_Sora Hikari. Age sixteen. Parents announced deceased as of last week – died in a fire caused by a grease-flame in the kitchen. He's a responsible young man, talented at academics and a hard worker, needing a place to settle until a permanent home-situation is found. No signs of psychological let-down, though he has been reluctant of speaking about the accident._

Sonya had read over his file several times before calling back that morning, confirming that she'd take him in for as long as he needed it.

It hadn't been his situation or the conditions that he was under that'd sealed her decision on taking him in however.

Just his name had been enough.

Sora. _Sora_ Hikari.

Just saying his name aloud had brought something out in her. Something she hadn't felt in a long, _long_ time. For some confusing reason, after having read his story for the first time, something inside of Sonya had snapped just a little; she remembered going to bed two nights ago, thinking over his situation and wondering if it'd be a good idea to take him in when she'd felt wetness collecting along her cheeks.

Her decision to do this had been decided at that exact moment. She didn't know what brought on the strong need to help Sora, but it'd blossomed in that moment, tearing at the very core of her being until she'd broken down. Whether it was because she'd been alone in her home for so long now, or because, perhaps, this boy knew the level of loneliness that she did, it'd struck home. Seeing him and welcoming him into her home had become more of a _necessity_ than an obligation, as it would've been for most people in this situation.

He had her last name, too.

"What're the chances of that Sora?" Sonya asked aloud as she settled into her car, lips still pulled up into its normal, gentle smile. After sparing the paper one last look-over she placed it in the glove compartment before pulling out of the driveway.

The brunette only managed to drive a few blocks before being waved down. Sonya only had to see the flash of silver before recognizing who was approaching. Within seconds Riku was pressing down into the driver's window, grinning at her with shiny-white teeth.

She often swore that if she'd been any younger than thirty even she would've tried jumping ship with that boy.

"I heard the rumors." He confirmed her suspicions with those four words. Sonya rolled her eyes, batting him away from the car, laughing. "You're getting another one?"

"Yep," the brunette chuckled at him, ignoring the exaggeratingly made-up "puke face" he was putting on.

"Last one wasn't enough?"

"Are you complaining about having someone your age in the neighborhood, Riku?" Sonya wriggled her brows at him; he rolled his eyes at her in response, absentmindedly crossing his arms over his chest.

Even being the age that she was, the woman couldn't stop herself from noticing how _toned_ he was looking lately. She flushed and looked away immediately, chiding herself mentally. '_Great, crushing on a teenager?_'

"Nope. Not complaining. Just wanna know if this one's slightly crazy, medium-crazy, or streaking-down-the-road-crazy." The teen was grinning at her broadly still. Most of the kids that Sonya had taken it had become well-known throughout the neighborhood, especially with Riku. His and her's "relationship" had started when Sonya had taken up babysitting the boy as a teenager herself. Once the brunette had started to do foster care years later, however, she'd been presented with a problem that she hadn't quite expected: not being able to _connect_ with some of them.

Especially the teenagers – they were by _far _more difficult than the children.

Riku…

Riku had really been a miracle in helping them open up and relax while living in the area. More than once Sonya had thanked god that she knew his mother, and in turn knew him, and could more often than not rely on him to help some of the more unstable kids feel more welcome to the area.

"Well his name's Sora. I don't think he's crazy – the report said… Well," she sighed, reaching up to tug a few locks away from her face, "his parents died a week ago apparently in a fire accident. No relatives. The social workers said that he doesn't appear to be going through any psychotic fits or anything." Although she wasn't supposed to be divulging this information to anyone, let alone another teenager of Sora's age, Sonya knew that Riku's curiosity wasn't just based off of _that_ alone. It was an odd relationship that she had with the silver-haired minx, but it worked.

"How long's he going to be staying?" When Sonya started to press down on the gas lightly and move the car forward, Riku moved along with it, eyes still cast down on her face intently. "How old is he?"

"You'll see when he gets here Riku. This one might not even need you around bugging him." At this said-male snorted, rolling his eyes indignantly. "Why don't you go hangout with your girlfriend anyways? She's going to be jealous if you keep hanging around me." Sonya joked, giggling.

Again, Riku merely rolled his eyes. "Yeah right. I hang around the kids you take in, not the old woman behind the scene." The male teasingly stuck his tongue out at Sonya, winking. The brunette took her turn to roll her eyes at him, before pressing down more firmly on the gas.

"And Kairi's not my girlfriend! We're friends Sonya!" The only sign he got that she'd heard him was her waving her hand at him outside the window as she sped up.

* * *

**END**

* * *

**A/N:**

Hope you all enjoyed.

The next chapter will be out in a few days. Just want some feedback, even though I've already written the next few chapters. Heh. There are no OOC characters in this story beyond the brief mentionings of the foster kids that Sonya took in. I suppose Sonya is technically and OOC character herself, but... Meh. She's Sora's mom. Not like the creators of Kingdom Hearts decided to give her a name or anything, so I made one myself. I actually think I read another fanfic where they called Sora's mom Sonya, and I liked it so much myself I decided to use it.

Oh, and I didn't call Reggie an OOC character because he isn't, as you all shall discover later.

As always, R&R.

- Devilbiter


	3. Ch 2: Recognition

**Disclaimer:** I do not, in any way, shape or form, own Kingdom Hearts or the Disney movies associated with it. This fanfic is purely made for the enjoyment of random people who like reading made-up stories.

**Author's Note: **

KH Re:Coded (the end of it, where Mickey told Sora about Naminé and all that stuff) is mostly ignored beyond him telling the brunet just that: about Naminé. Most of you probably didn't even play the game. I've done a lot of research on this but… If I included what happened at the end of Re:Coded the story would be… conflicting.

Anyways, thanks for reading the story. Enjoy!

Sora & Riku "meet". YAY.

Enjoy.

"Speaking."

'_Thoughts_.'

_Flashback/Dream_.

* * *

**Chapter Two: Recognition**

* * *

"You've never drank coffee before?" There was_ that_ tone to his voice that the teen was all-too accustomed to. '_It's amazing,_' Sora thought, '_how easy it was to claim that I felt like I've known Reggie for a few years, rather than a few hours_.'

That wasn't the case _entirely_ between him and the redhead, but he sure as hell felt like it was.

"My mom wouldn't let me touch the stuff." That wasn't entirely true. On one occasion when he was twelve he'd snuck a few drinks of the stuff – after spitting it out and declaring it evil, he'd vowed to never touch it again. Despite having only taken a few drinks of it though, Sora had really felt the energy-boosting effects; to say his mother hadn't appreciated a hyperactive pre-teen would've been an understatement.

"Soda?"

"A little. Haven't had any in forever," he commented back idly.

There was a pause.

"Energy drinks?"

Sora blinked, staring at him.

"No…?"

Reggie leaned back in his chair, lazily drawing his arms over his chest. The teen had really grown to dislike the grin that was forming onto the redhead's face. "Well, I can easily foresee what you'll be telling your mom and – wait no," Reggie interrupted himself, the same dry humor still in his tone, "your _foster mom_ about your actual parents."

The brunet's eyes narrowed suspiciously. For several seconds he remained quiet, not wanting to give in to the bait being offered before him. To be honest he hadn't even thought of what he'd be telling his _mom_ about his _other _parents. The last few days had been spent either at the redhead's apartment or at the office where they were presently sitting in again. When he'd been in the solitude of his temporary room, Sora's mind had been encased in the what-if scenarios of his current situation.

'_What if she does remember me when she sees me? What if they all do? What if King Mickey had been wrong and some part of their memories is restored when they see me?_' The chances of that happening had filled him with both dread and nervous excitement. '_Then again... they might not remember me at all, though in Castle Oblivion… They'd at least had a sense that they knew me, right? I don't even know whether I want them to remember me or not. God, I'm sad._' Those thoughts and questions plagued him the most, followed by a personal evaluation of how well he'd be able to deal with this. Sora knew he couldn't just burst into tears the second he saw everyone – the brunet didn't want to have to go through anymore counselors to talk about how he was 'dealing with everything'.

He cringed, remembering the last one he'd seen. It'd happened just this morning, actually, right after his real mom had called to confirm he could stay with her.

* * *

_Sora stared at her in disbelief, not quite able to grasp that the woman had actually had the nerve to ask him that._

"_Excuse me?" He stared at her intently, waiting for her to repeat the question he knew he hadn't just heard._

_Ms. Belle was primp, as Sora had come to notice of all the women that worked in this building were. The woman was nothing like the Princess Belle that he knew, and comparing them at all was impossible simply because of the differences: she had too-bright blonde hair that was pinned back by a black clasp; like Reggie, she was donned in a white button-up blouse that hugged her breasts too much and left too little to the imagination of what she'd look like without it on. Practically see-through, Sora had found his eyes fixed on the teasing flesh just above her abundant chest. He doubted that he'd been the only one staring (not because he was a pervert, but because it was hard to focus on anything else: each time she spoke or move, they seemed to jostle) in the entire building, but apparently she'd noticed. _

_It'd been so long since he'd actually taken notice of something like this that he'd been surprised to hear her clear her throat to get his attention. Sora's eyes snapped up to look into her own, fighting back the blush of embarrassment wanting to spread over his cheeks._

"_Did you have a girlfriend or boyfriend back in your old school?"_

_He blinked again in disbelief, staring directly into her honeydew orbs. "Uhm… I don't think so?" _

_Ms. Belle prodded her pencil against the clipboard in her hand. Sora was suddenly glad that there was a table between them and he wouldn't have to look at what she was wearing beneath it. He was sure it'd be even more distracting than her top. _

"_I see." For one reason or another, he got the feeling that his answer was what she'd been expecting, like she thought he was lying about it._

_The closest he'd gotten to having any __**action**__ in his life had been at a swimming-pool birthday party when he was ten. A girl from one of his art classes had planted a smacker on his cheek after dousing him underwater before running away, giggling._

"_Are you sexually active Sora?"_

"_What does that have to do with anything?" The brunet's cheeks were officially aflame. His gaze drifted from her, instead staring at the suddenly very-interesting manila folder before her. The entirety of his fake life was in there apparently. _

"_Just something that might come up in the near future. A lot of kids who are under this kind of pressure wind up turning to bad behavior to help cop-"_

"_Well I'm not like most kids. I don't do drugs, or drink, or any of that. And I'm not gonna turn into some kind of nymphomaniac to deal with my problems," Sora bit the inside of his cheek to keep from sounding too cheeky. _

_The counselor shifted in her seat, silently writing away on her clipboard._

_For some reason he got that feeling again that he'd said something wrong. The teen was confused to see her lips twitching upwards once she finished. "What's so funny?" Was it really that odd to find a teenager that wasn't consumed by their hormones? 'If only you knew what I've been doing for the last four years. You wouldn't be grinning, lady.' Sora was surprised at the venom to his thoughts. He was tired of people treating him like he was some sad story here. _

_He was already tired of pretending that he was just another normal teenager, and his 'new' life had barely just begun. _

"_Just been awhile since I've heard someone say something like that." 'Yeah, I bet lady. I wonder how many of us you actually get anywhere with. Asking me about my sex life. What the hell does that have to do with my 'recovery'?' Sora felt like pointing out to her that he was still technically a virgin, but thought better of it. _

_He had way more important things to think about._

"_Is that all we were gonna talk about today?" These meetings had taken place once a day over the last three days he'd been here. "Do you think there's something wrong with me because I'm not sex-crazy or something?" The last question was blurted out unintentionally. Before he could recuperate or spout out another question to distract her, however, Ms. Belle straightened her posture, suddenly staring at him very intently._

_Sora knew he'd dug his grave and was about to be laid in it._

"_Just odd. I'd think with someone of your background, having money and all, and your good looks you'd have had plenty of attention in that department. There's nothing wrong with you if you truly are just as you claim to be." The brunet might've believed her if not for her persistent gaze. It made him uncomfortable, whatever it was; he couldn't quite discern the new emotion that was in her gaze, but it made him go rigid and cast his gaze to the table again._

'_There's nothing wrong with me,' Sora wanted to say, but didn't. _

_By the end of their session a peculiar thought had come to him. One he'd never really considered before, nor debated over. _

'_I'm good-looking?' Sora shoved the notion to the back of his mind after a few seconds of debate - like he had time to really dilly-dally in things like romance and hormones. _

* * *

Besides the obvious questions and his wonder of how everyone had changed, Sora's mind had surprisingly remained fixed on his friends in the other worlds; subconsciously he just wasn't quite up to dealing with reality yet. Not until his mother actually walked in the door behind him and everything really hit him that this was all happening. The brunet's mind was still in Disney Castle, Radiant Gardens, and Traverse Town – every other place that wasn't Destiny Islands. Every other place except the one that wasn't…

Wasn't _special_. Wasn't aware of his existence and all that he'd done.

Upon waking his second night here, the teen had thought for several minutes he was still in the Disney Castle. He hadn't felt for his lamp to light his room – he'd summoned fire to his fingertips to illuminate the room as he looked for his glass of water on the nightstand.

When he'd accidentally tapped the lamp and it'd lit up brightly - powered by electricity - and he'd caught sight of the digital alarm clock (Reggie had replaced it, making a point to tell him he'd taken the entirety of the $6.50 out of his bank account to do so) Sora had been rudely reawakened to the reality of his life presently. Again, that intense feeling of bitter resentment had flooded him, though it'd disappeared just as quickly as it'd appeared this time around thankfully.

It hadn't been until the third night that his anxiety had returned, ten-fold. The brunet's mother still hadn't called to confirm or deny Sora's residency-request. He'd lain there restlessly, constantly waiting and waiting for the red digits to finally hit 6:00 am so that he could get up and spend his entire day at Children's Services. Ironically enough, while Sora hadn't ever imagined that he'd ever wind up walking into the building his entire life, he certainly hadn't ever expected that he'd one day look _forward_ to it.

Waiting for hours on end for a phone call that he'd begun to suspect would never happen had been the most terrifying experience in his life. It'd make things a lot simpler if Sonya didn't return the call period, but Sora hadn't wanted that.

Some small, small part of him insisted that she had to recall him at least a little. Maybe if she couldn't picture him in her head or remember him, she still had to feel some sort of connection to him right?

She was his mother, for Christ's sake. Amnesia or memory loss set aside, that alone had to count for something, right?

And then it'd happened.

Barely three hours ago, at exactly five minutes to nine, she'd called. Reggie had lifted a finger to him and smiled – for once it wasn't anything evil or negatively-enforced – signaling that it was her.

Sora admittedly had never felt so anxious or nervous in his entire life. The notion was ridiculous and childish really (at least he thought it was after the redhead had hung up and told him she'd be here at noon to pick him up), considering all that he'd been through over the last four years, but it was still one of the most angst-ridden moments he'd ever experienced. To even think that his mother wouldn't want him at her house was idiotic. He'd spent an hour chiding himself, and then the next two wracked with nerves.

'_I shouldn't even be nervous. It's not like I'm meeting someone I don't know. Get a grip!_' This thought helped him calm a little.

Reggie, surprisingly or not, wasn't helping with his incessant inquiries and dumbass remarks.

"Excuse me? Destiny Islands to Sora, are you here mentally?"

Named-teen blinked, looking away from the clock to the blonde. "What?"

He sighed.

"Don't you want to hear what I have to say?"

'_No._' Sora smirked when he imagined what kind of look would cross over the redhead's face if he actually said that. While there was still that uncomfortable feeling of intense dislike that Reggie occasionally omitted in his direction, the overall aura had lightened some. He might've even claimed he liked the man if not for the fact that he never wanted to see him again after this.

"About what?"

"Jeez," Reggie sighed dramatically, uncrossing his arms. "You don't listen at all. I'm thinking about changing what I wrote about your academic scores. They're gonna think you're retarded."

Sora stuck his tongue out. "I'm not retarded."

"Whatever. What are you going to tell Sonya and everyone who asks about your parents?"

"What kind of kid is going to talk about their parents right now after what I've 'been' through?" Sora countered, arching a dark brow. For once he seemed to have stumped the redhead into silence over his common sense.

"What did my _parents_ do anyways?" He asked seconds later, still staring at the other intently.

"Your mom Clarisse owned a nonexistent restaurant called Four Seasons. Dad worked for a sporting company on another Island. Was a Co-Owner of it. It's called…" Reggie licked his thumb before pressing through a few pages. "Sports Warehouse. Lot of branches in this city – the core building is actually on the Island north of here." Sora hated admitting how glad he was that the redhead hadn't blown up his 'parents' careers. The Co-Owner bit of a major franchise was a bit of overkill, but nobody really paid attention to the shadow of a CEO right?

"What was my dad's name?" Sora asked next, rubbing his fingers along his wrists. He missed his gloves.

"Seifer."

"_Seifer_?" The brunet's brow twitched at how nonchalantly Reggie stated his dad's name. "My dad's name was _Seifer_?" When he looked over and met the redhead's green eyes he was surprised to find total and complete innocence in them. '_Guess_ _I can't honestly get mad at him over this one._'

_For once_.

At least he was actually oblivious to the fact that Sora actually knew a Seifer, and he was the last person on earth he'd ever imagined as a father-figure. Well, besides a few others that came to mind. Thinking about him brought Olette, Pence and Hayner to the forefront of his thoughts. He idly wondered how they were all doing.

"Is there a problem with that?" Reggie inquired next, arching a brow smoothly.

'_Yes_.' "No," he replied back just as calmly.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah, really."

"Do you know a Seifer?"

Sora stared at him.

"And if I do?"

"What's he like? You sounded like I'd just brought up a childhood bully or something." Reggie looked interested. _Too_ interested.

"It doesn't matter. Just a guy from another world."

"Oh come on, do divulge. What world was he from at least?"

"Another world."

"Sora, come on," the redhead tilted his head at him, giving him the: _are you really going to do this_? look.

"Tell me what world you're from and I'll tell you where he's from." Sora smiled at him, smug to see his lips form into a tight line. '_That shut you up, huh_?'

Sora 3, Reggie 58.

"Umm, excuse me?"

Simultaneously both Reggie and Sora looked away from each other (Sora over his shoulder) at the door. It was cracked open halfway, revealing a slim, small-structured woman. Her chocolate brown hair was flowing loosely over her shoulders, framing a pale, heart-shaped face. Bangs were dangling just above soft, doe-like irises; high cheek bones accentuated her features while making her gentle smile more noticeable. She was wearing a plain yellow blouse with frilly sleeves, followed by a set of worn blue jeans and sandals. A paopu necklace dangled around her neck loosely. The only carry-on item she had was a matching tan purse – it was one of those long things that dangled against your hip.

Sora noticed none of that however. His eyes remained firmly latched onto a pair of sandy-hued irises, unable to look away.

He'd stopped breathing, though he didn't notice that until moments later.

"Mom." The teen only realized seconds after that he'd said the word out loud, _breathless_ no less. Sora had gone through their meeting over and over in his head these last few days, but he hadn't expected anything like this. His chest was tightening with emotion, heart hammering, while so many conflicting emotions erupted inside of him all at once. Part of him wanted to cry, while the other part was urging him to get up and hug her. His body trembled with the sudden need to feel her wrap her arms around him and hug him - hold him against her chest and tell him that she'd _missed_ him and that everything was going to be _alright_. That she _loved_ him. That she'd known all along that she'd see him again.

'_Naminé made the worst mistake in the world_.'

Sora's eyes flooded with tears.

Sonya was staring at him still, eyes widening in surprise at what he'd just called her. She was clueless to what was happening, what he was going through.

Slowly the brunette rose to his feet, pushing his chair in under the table while turning around to face her. Sora's fingers were trembling, so he quickly clenched them into fists and pressed them against his sides harshly. '_Mom_.' His jaw jerked, lips twitched; it was so damn _hard_ standing here.

'_What have I been thinking…?_'

What had he been thinking, never wanting to see this woman again?

'_Just four days ago I never wanted to see her again. Four days ago I didn't even care_.'

What had ever possessed him to even think something like that?

Sora's mouth opened and closed several times but nothing came out. Sonya didn't move further in the room – her shock over what he'd just called her seemed to have subsided, and now nothing but concern was filling her eyes.

"Sora?"

'_Does she remember me?_' His heart froze before it started pounding again, this time in an excited rush. Before any sort of hope could settle in it was blown out of the water. '_She remembers m_-!'

"Are you Sora?'

He never thought words could hurt him this badly. He never thought they were capable of the amount of hurt that he felt at that moment, hearing those three words.

_Are you Sora_?

There was nothing in her eyes, he suddenly realized.

'_I'm your son. Don't you recognize me_?'

She was looking at him as if he was just a passerby on the street she'd just run into.

_Are you Sora_? It kept echoing in his head, like a CD skipping over the same part over and over and over again.

He wasn't anything special to this woman.

'_Don't you feel anything_?'

He was nobody, to anybody, here. Not even to the one person he'd relied on most his whole life.

_Are you… Sora_?

She looked at him like he really was just some kid she was trying to help out, rather than her son, rather than someone of her own flesh and blood.

And it _hurt_.

_It hurt more than he'd ever anticipated it would, seeing the blankness in her eyes where love should've been_.

* * *

"Just sign here." Reggie was pointing at a black line on one of the many white sheets of paper he'd provided her with. Sora just sat there numbly beside his mother, staring at her hand as she so intricately printed her signature on it. It was just as he remembered it – she even made the overly-exaggerated cursive S, while the rest of it was delicately written out.

She smelled like honeysuckle, just like he remembered.

He was remembering a lot of things about her now: things he hadn't thought of before, cherished before.

After an uncomfortable ten minutes of staring and light introductions, Reggie had quickly produced the release forms for Sonya to sign before they'd be free to go. Sora had forced himself not to stare, though his hands hadn't stopped trembling since her presence had registered in his mind and heart. She was only two feet away from him, chattering happily, telling him all about her house and how excited she was to have him with her, while all he wanted to do was throw his arms around her shoulders and sob.

_She had no clue_.

_She had no clue who he wa_-

"I hope you don't mind the color blue. It's my favorite really," she was saying.

Sora just nodded dumbly at her. "It's my favorite color too."

This seemed to please her. "Well good!" She smiled at him, tearing her eyes away from the paper briefly to look at him. Sora looked up in time just to catch her gaze. "Your room is on the second story – it's right across from mine. Faces the beach. I wanted to have that one as my room but the other one was just slightly bigger, and with the amount of clothes I go through in a year…" Sonya flushed, shaking her head. "Well you'll see. I'm sure you'll like it. Probably not like anything you're used to but…"

"No it's fine," Sora quickly cut in, smiling at her. "My old room wasn't anything too amazing. I guess I'm pretty simple."

She looked honestly relieved. He could feel her relax beside him at his comment; in turn, he could feel his own muscles loosen up. "Good. I'm sure we'll get along just fine then."

'_I know we will_.'

"And that's it right?" Sonya looked away from him. Sora forced himself to look away too. He stared at Reggie just as she was.

The teen was surprised to see that he was looking at him. The silent question of '_are you sure you want to do this?'_ was being impressed upon him through the look. Despite the fact that his mother wasn't aware of what he was going through at that moment, Reggie did. _At least on the literal sense_. For once, _once_, Sora actually appreciated the fact that at least one other person on this world knew him. Knew what he was going through.

Knew that the woman beside him was his mom, even if she didn't know it himself.

Sora nodded at him, just slightly though.

Reggie finally looked at his mother and nodded. "Yep, that's it. If you have any more questions you can call me by my cell phone number. It's on the paper." The redhead casually eyeballed him. "I doubt he'll be causing you any trouble though, right Sora?"

The brunet managed to smile without tearing up. He nodded. "I'm not a troublemaker. I'll cause as little problems as I can, Mrs. Hikari." It felt odd calling her that, but he knew that calling her _mom_ again was bound to raise some questions. Sora was glad she'd decided to let his first slip-up go without commenting or pointing it out to him.

_Bless her_.

"I'll hold you to it mister." Sonya was smiling at him again, and it made his chest clench tightly. Sora's fingers trembled, before slowly stilling. After several more minutes of discussing the "what you can do" and "what you can't do" (to either of them individually), both of them were rising to their feet and heading towards the door. Sora slid his satchel over his shoulder and grabbed his suitcase, at which Sonya protested, trying to reach for it.

"I got it, don't worry," he assured her.

Slowly she nodded. "Alright then. Just hand it over if you need help." His mother glanced between his satchel and his suitcase, biting her bottom lip. "I'll meet you outside in one moment okay Sora? Need to ask Reggie a couple more things." This time he felt like _he _should be protesting – Sora didn't want to leave her, now that he was actually in her presence. He felt like a dependent little kid that was afraid to let go of his mother's hand.

Finally he sucked in a sharp breath and nodded, moving towards the door.

"Wait, Sora." The teen froze, halfway through the doorframe. He glanced back over his shoulder at her hopefully. "Is that all you have?"

It took him several seconds to realize she was referring to his single suitcase and his satchel.

"Yeah," Sora smiled at her, though it was the hardest one he'd ever had to fake.

"This is all I have."

* * *

**Riku – 12:27 PM**

* * *

"But that doesn't make sense."

"Yes it does, you just aren't listening." Her voice was eerily enthused about this.

"Then explain it again, because you still aren't making any sense."

The redhead sighed, as if it was taking a lot of effort to open her mouth and talk.

"If there's such an enigma as antimatter, which is basically matter with its protons and electrons – just opposite versions of it – then wouldn't there be such a thing as anti-life, in comparison to regular life?" She did make a good argument, he supposed.

"…are you sure you want to use this as an actual theory paper for this semester Kairi?"

There was silence, and then: "Of course I do! It's logical, don't you think? If it's plausible that our regular atoms could have an exact opposite with the same makeup, then it should be possible for regular life to have its own anti-life too."

"Okay then. I just hope you can convince Mrs. Kindle of the same." Selphie prodded at her cafeteria pudding, looking unconvinced herself.

He tore his eyes away from the pair.

He really hoped Kairi could too, because Riku had no fucking idea what either of them were talking about. Within a matter of seconds their conversation shifted to the newest romance movie that'd just come out, and he safely deemed it as his time to pull out of his snooping. This had been a bad idea, sitting near them, he decided. The silver-haired teen wasn't really sure why he'd thought that by eavesdropping on the smartest girl in his physics class would give him an idea for his own research project, but, it'd proved to be a total waste of time.

'_Maybe someone a little less smart_?' Riku smirked at the idea, instead looking ahead of him. Tidus was jabbering away to Wakka, who looked like he was more prepared to fall asleep than listen to his friend's usual antics and taunts. In fact, if the orange-haired male's closed eyes were any indication, Riku would've thought that Wakka had already fallen asleep and that Tidus's attempts at making conversation were as possible of being accomplished as his attempts at being remotely intelligent.

'_Yeah, definitely not gonna be getting anything good from this one._' In fact, if Tidus actually turned in his project (to be honest Riku had no idea how the blonde even got in the class, but whatever), he'd be stunned _and_ impressed.

Really, if the blonde wasn't so damn good at blitzball, Riku would've been worried about what he'd do for his future.

"Riku." The silver-haired teen blinked, realizing that Tidus was suddenly very close. Close, as in inches-from-his-face-close, leaning-over-their-lunch-table-close, hands-pressed-against-the-surface, staring-into-his-eyes-close. "Riiiiiikkuuuuuuu. EARTH TO RIKU."

"_What_?"

"You keep staring at me like that and I'll start thinking I'm one of your next conquests," the blonde grinned at him, too-bright blue eyes glistening. He hunched back down on his bench, dragging _his_ lunch tray with him. Riku was oddly amused by this, although that amusement twisted into disgust as he watched Tidus begin to literally inhale the food.

'_Oh well – less fat food for me to eat.' _He snickered_. 'That's right, kill your arteries Tidus… Kill __**them**_.'

"Actually," Riku started back finally, smirk tugging at the corners of his lips, "you'd be the last person I'd ever touch. Especially since you've started getting a fat ass."

"So you've noticed?" Tidus, having apparently given up on Wakka (who now, sneakily, had his iPod earpieces plugged in; apparently he'd only been _pretending_ to be asleep) had resorted to his second-favorite pass time: bugging Riku. '_Lucky bastard,_' he thought enviously, glaring at Wakka. He wondered if the carrot-head's face would catch fire if he glared long enough. Often the silver-haired male swore that if they all hadn't been friends growing up he'd have never gone near the blonde. "I always knew you had a thing for me."

'_What was he rambling about…? Oh, right. Me wanting his ass. __**Riiighhhttt**_**.**'

"And I always knew you'd never like me," Riku sighed dramatically, even going so far as to put on a longing face as he looked back over at the blonde.

"Sorry," Tidus's face scrunched up as he stuffed a ketchup-covered fry into his mouth, "I don't swing _Riku_."

"You'd like it though, I promise. Why not give me a test-run, Tidus?" Sometimes Riku couldn't help but think that Tidus actually was curious about him; too bad he'd never touch the blonde, not even with a ten-foot pole. Still, that didn't stop him from standing up and leaning over the table, moving as if to trap the other male's body with his hands. Tidus immediately stood upright, yelping as he narrowly dodged Riku's fingertips.

"God don't do that!"

"But Tidus I want you." He purred, licking his lips. Riku was overly aware that every pair of eyes were on him and Tidus – none of this was new to them, but it was generally entertaining to watch. "You know it. So come on baby." Smiling seductively, he strode around the table. Immediately his friend started backing up, waving his hands back and forth at him defensively.

Wakka's eyes slid open. He stared at the two of them, shaking his head. "They're going crazy. It's finally happening, ya."

At the next table over, Kairi and Selphie broke into giggles.

"Run Tidus!" The brunette called, still giggling furiously as she watched Riku stumble after Tidus in his love-struck dazed walk.

For several minutes the blonde kited his friend around the cafeteria, various shouts of: "Get away from me!" and "Pervert!" and "Riku stop I'm hungry" echoing throughout the room. A near total of one thousand students were probably watching as the scene unfolded, but Riku didn't care.

He hadn't laughed this hard in awhile.

"But Tidus," he whined, darting forward and barely missing Tidus (who squeaked and ran around another table surrounded by students) , "please. I promise I'll treat your ass nicely the first time. With as pudgy-"

"My ass isn't fat. Quit looking at it!"

Riku laughed again. The two of them circled the table several times before Tidus lunged forward, pressing between two kids they didn't know, and grabbed another boy's tray.

"Don't come any closer," the blonde threatened him, raising the tray, "or I'll throw it. I _mean_ it, Riku." Tidus's grin dwindled some – it was hard to stop laughing at this point – though he was doing his best to pull off a very serious face.

'_Right. You wouldn't dare_.'

At least, that's what Riku thought until he wound up with a mustard-smeared tray smashed into the front of his shirt.

It was amazing how quickly he returned the gesture with the tray belonging to the boy closest to him on the table. Well, how quickly he tried to.

Flushed and laughing, Tidus was already running out of the cafeteria by the time Riku had managed to turn around, face red and eyes narrowed angrily. "TIDUS. GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE!"

"NO!" The blonde rounded the double-doors before disappearing.

Riku started after him immediately, food sloshing off the sides of the trays and hitting the ground. He didn't seem to care.

Wakka stared as the silver-haired teen ran out of the cafeteria. Silently he leaned back into his seat, eyes shutting. He turned his iPod up louder to drown out their shouts in the hall.

"Was gonna happen eventually, ya."

Selphie and Kairi peered over at the carrot top. "I don't think Tidus is getting fat…" The brunette stated aloud casually. While her redheaded friend nodded, Wakka cracked an eye open to look at the two.

He was grinning.

"Oh, he's getting fat, ya."

* * *

'_So much for casual Friday. Figures the one fucking day we don't have to wear those damn uniforms during the week, this happens_.' And it'd been one of his favorite shirts, too.

Riku swore that when he saw Tidus next and got his hands on him, the blonde was going to be wishing he _did_ like him. '_Smash his face into the table. Or… poison his food._' Yeah, that sounded good. He smirked, mentally visualizing this as he tugged his white shirt off – without the mustard being smeared along the front, it was quite appealing: the shirt itself clung to him just right, giving a teasing hint as to the muscles underneath while not being too predatory. A silver emblem was emblazoned on the center of it in the shape of a dragon.

Simple, yet it did his chest wonders.

He tugged on the white button-up of his uniform angrily, still ticked that he even had to change period. After leaving the cafeteria and chasing Tidus for a few laps around the building he'd stopped, breathless. Unfortunately, the blonde did have one advantage over him: he could run longer than him. _Another reminder for him to join a damn sports team_. Scowling, Riku folded his shirt so that all of the messy parts of it was folded inward and wouldn't rub off onto anything else, before stuffing it into his backpack.

He slung the black thing over his shoulder before stepping out of the locker room, glancing down the hall.

Nobody was in sight.

Guess there were a few minutes of lunch left. The teen peered down at his cell phone.

1:05.

He had… five minutes.

Riku picked up his pace, passing a few people who waved at him. He returned the gesture even if he had no clue who they were.

"Hey Riku." One of them called out to him. "Tidus nailed you!"

'_No shit_.' Expression tart, he rolled his eyes. "I'll get him back later. Tell him he's fucked, alright?"

_Probably one of the blonde's stupid friends on the blitzball team_.

Riku pressed open the exit doors. Again he paused, glancing around. A few other students were returning from lunch, but other than that nobody who actually worked for the school were around. The teen pressed on, waving at those he did know while ignoring those that didn't this time. He was sure Tidus's short-lived victory had already spread like a wild fire.

By the time the bell rang, signaling the end of the lunch, Riku was already a block away from the campus. He was glad that he only lived a half-mile away - really made skipping an easy task. Well, easier than it already was.

As he crossed onto Seaside Boulevard Riku finally relaxed, easily spotting his too-large-for-the-neighborhood house. Next to Sonya's house, it really looked rather overkill for the area. Her small little beach-house was overshadowed by their enormous three-story home, complete with a fenced & gated yard, as well as a wrap-around deck that could be seen from any point of the street. By far the biggest house on the entire street, it truly looked out of place compared to the other smaller, much-simpler homes that were littered around it.

That was his mom though: while he himself was a show-off, his mother really outdid herself, especially when it came to flaunting her money.

Riku's pace slowed some as he passed Sonya's home, noting with a quick glance that her car was still gone.

'_Wonder what this one's gonna be like_.' Her reluctance to divulge simple information made him remotely nervous. He wouldn't bother with the feeling if not for the last psychopath she'd taken in. '_Man, she was a total kook_.' Riku originally hadn't had any interest whatsoever in talking to any of the kids that Sonya had taken in – originally he hadn't, until his mother had all but forced him to. The first one she'd taken in hadn't been so bad. His name had been Nix (a nickname of course. He'd never learned the kid's actual name). While the kid had some major social problems, Riku had discovered that it was kind of nice being able to talk to someone without receiving any crude or derogatory responses back.

Sort of like his own personal therapist, but more one-way conversation and almost no feedback.

He'd lasted four months before being removed. Last Riku had heard, he'd committed suicide almost three years ago.

The second and third, Sara and Lincoln, however, were two totally different yet similar crack jobs. Being friendly to either of them had lead to a stalking issue between Riku and the pair – after two months of that and having caught them snooping in his yard, and having his mother complain to Sonya, the two had been removed without a second thought.

And then the last one… Tara.

The teen's gut tightened.

Riku just reached the gates of their home and was beginning to punch in the security number for entrance when he heard her car coming. Sonya's car was unmistakable, given it was the only car on the street that had an engine that purred when the gas was being pressed down on and whined when the brakes were being applied. Briefly he considered just making his way inside and giving in to his curiosity pursuits later – after all, hadn't she said that Sora probably wouldn't even need the _Great_ Riku?

The urge to look proved too strong.

He cast a sharp, nosy glance over his shoulder to the right and stared down the road. He watched her small buzz-car pull into their lot. Sonya was the first to get out. From his position, he could make out a splash of brown hair in the passenger seat up front.

Riku took two steps back, hand still reached out for the security pad as he stared at his neighbor's car.

Sonya moved to the trunk of her car and popped it open. She withdrew a single suitcase before closing it. "I got it Sora, don't worry about it."

_Sora_.

His name passed over him like a cool breeze. It sent a shiver up his spine, and cast all other thoughts from his mind as he stared intently at them, waiting for said-male to finally reveal himself. Riku hadn't thought that she was actually getting the kid today. '_Probably should have asked that earlier…'_

Sora came into view seconds later. The teen rounded the car to the driver's side. He spoke, though Riku couldn't hear him his voice was so quiet – Sonya protested to whatever he was saying before finally handing the suitcase over to him. "I got it," was what he said in return, if Riku's lip-reading was up to par.

The silver-haired teen's mouth had gone dry over these fast yet few seconds. He stared at the other male, unable to believe that Sonya had brought _this_ home with her. From his position and the way that Sora was walking, Riku could make nothing out but his figure and part of his face, which was mostly shielded by milk-chocolate bangs. His figure was slim, yet not in the ugly fashion that he'd seen so many of his fellow students adopt since the whole skinny-jean craze. There was still muscle on this boy's figure, if the tautness of his plain blue shirt was any giveaway. Blue jeans hugged a delicate waist, before comfortably falling down over long legs. His skin seemed to _gleam _in the sunlight, a teasing shade of sun-kissed tan that begged to be touched.

But the most surprising factor of it all?

'_He's normal._'

Riku didn't just feel it, he knew it.

He'd never felt so inclined as to stride over and introduce himself to one of Sonya's many episodes (what he liked to call them) than he did at that moment. Before, the majority of his contact with the foster kids had either been after his mother had pressed him into it, or because he'd genuinely felt sorry for them. This time was different. This time…

'_I want to talk to him_.' Riku stared in fascination as Sora turned around to face the house. The teen's brown, spiky locks curled over his face. Sonya moved to stand next to him, pointing out something in the front yard. Probably her garden. The silver-haired teen took another step back as the pair moved up towards the porch. '_God, they could be mother and son_.' Their skin tone was exactly the same, he realized. '_And their hair… Exactly the same_.'

Riku watched as the front door was pressed open by Sonya – she stepped aside to let Sora in. Once she was in, the brunette closed the door, obscuring him from spying any longer.

The sense of exhilaration and excited curiosity that'd flooded him dissipated momentarily, leaving Riku with an irksome sense of loss. '_What the hell's wrong with me? He's just some kid._' Despite his mind's attempt to reconcile and restore some of his normal composure, he found himself standing there, staring at their – no, _Sonya's_ – front door, as if waiting for them to come back outside.

When they didn't, that sickening sense of displeasure filled him again, stronger this time.

Riku shook his head. Hesitantly he resumed what he'd been doing and headed into his own house. His mother's car was gone. Supposedly, she'd be gone until the following Monday, leaving the house all to himself. He didn't mind, especially now since he had something to do over the weekend.

The silver-haired teen paused on their deck, casting one last glance over at Sonya's small home. Frustrated with the lack of seeing his new target, Riku turned and started back into his house.

'_Oh well. I'll see him soon_.'

Soon, as in four-hours soon.

* * *

**Sora – That Evening**

* * *

Whatever she was cooking smelled good, Sora decided. After having been given a tour of their small home, the brunet had been ushered up to his new bedroom by an overly-enthusiastic Sonya and told to "make it his own" while she started on dinner. That'd been about two hours ago. Surprisingly or not, Sora actually managed to keep busy within those two hours, dividing his time between putting his clothes away in his closet and putting his _other_ clothes away where no one would find them.

If King Mickey found out he'd taken these with him…

The keyblade master grinned to himself, feeling pleased with the victories he still held claim to: his suited armor (Valor-clothing/outfit) was safely tucked under his suitcase in the closet. Though Sora knew realistically he didn't need it, even if for some reason the Heartless did show up here, it still made him more comfortable having it close by. While it wasn't impossible harnessing his magical talents without being donned in his enforced clothing, it did make things easier.

Of course, if Sonya found it by some odd, random chance, he'd simply claim that it was an old Halloween outfit he'd worn. Sora knew that would lead to some other questions – probably something along the lines of: …_why would you risk dying to get your Halloween outfit out of the fire?_ He was still thinking up a response to that one once it came his way.

Well, if it did.

Sora slumped back onto his twin-sized bed. From where it was positioned in the room (pressed just up against the large bay window), all he had to do was look to the right and see the ocean. It was beautiful, it really was.

'_Mom outdid herself._'

Other than the bed and his closet (which was a mirrored screen-door), as well as a TV set and video game console, as well as a few shelves littered along the walls, the room was bare. Sora almost would've felt unwelcome if not for the fact that the room already felt like his. Well, it was his. He had no doubt in his mind that Sonya would 'adopt' him eventually. The entire car ride home had been enlightening – food had been the main topic, which was something easily spoken of between the pair, even before all of this had happened and he'd left.

After only a few minutes he'd gotten her laughing, and in turn he'd started to laugh. Sora had felt like nothing had changed between them. He'd felt like he was actually right next to his mother, four years ago, arguing about what was best to have for dinner and what wasn't.

The façade of his delusion had been shattered when she'd asked him if his mom had cooked for him a lot. The air had become remotely tense, and that sickeningly overwhelming feeling of being alone had taken over. Reality had hit him so many times alone today that he didn't think he could take much more beating from it. It was amazing how quickly his emotions kept shifting – in the office he'd felt like he'd been about to break, but once they'd gotten in the car and started talking he'd felt…

He'd felt normal.

And then that'd happened and the mood had been ruined, and he'd been sent cascading over the edge of the emotional rollercoaster ride he'd been subjected to.

Thankfully, though, the light mood had returned once they were inside the house, though it was extremely fragile. Though his hands had stopped shaking and he'd regained remote control over himself, it hadn't stopped him from feeling the familiar pangs of disappointment and loneliness.

Sora rolled over onto his stomach, face pressed into the pillow. He breathed in deeply, smiling when he heard Sonya calling his name.

"Sora!"

"Yeah, mo-," he quickly corrected himself, glad his voice had been muffled. "Mrs. Hikari?"

"Why don't you go take a shower and then come down and have dinner?" She sounded like she was halfway up the stairs. "I think you'll like what I made."

"Alright." Sora didn't feel like budging, however. A sense of lazy contentment had taken over him. _When was the last time he'd just laid in bed and relaxed?_ After another five minutes of enjoying the haze he rolled back over and swung his legs over the bed. Grabbing a simple pair of gray sweats and a plain white tee, Sora headed out of the room and padded down the hall. He hadn't had much to wear upon coming, and he knew he'd have to expand his wardrobe soon. The thought alone made him cringe: he hated _shopping_.

After taking a quick shower and scrubbing body raw and combing through his hair almost a million times, Sora emerged from the shower with steam clinging to him. He threw his towel and clothes in the hamper outside of the bathroom before starting down the steps, albeit slowly. For one second he paused at the sound of his mother's voice – when he realized that she wasn't calling up to him, Sora started to walk again, spirits rising.

'_Maybe this won't be so hard. Sure, it'll take some time getting used to how weird everything is but..._'

Sonya was laughing suddenly.

'_Is she talking to someone…?_' The brunet's lips pursed, annoyance flooding him; who could possibly be here this late? '_Did she get a boyfriend_?' The thought made his stomach squeeze in disgust; all prior attempts that Sonya had taken to starting a romance life when he'd been a child had been thrown out the window. Sora wasn't ashamed to admit that he'd been a real mommy's boy, and in return had refused to share her with anyone, let alone another male. Riku, Wakka, and Tidus had been the only exceptions but _only_ because they all had their own moms to go home to.

He paused once he reached the bottom of the stairs, waiting once he heard her calm down. Sora had just about written it off as a weird coincidence and was continuing forward once he heard _him_.

"Where is he?"

Sora froze.

"He's taking a shower," Sonya commented. She sounded pleased, airy. He idly wondered if it was because the food had turned out good or because... "Do you think he'll like this?"

"Who doesn't like your cooking?" Riku.

Silence.

"Well apparently you don't." His mother's voice was chiding. Sora was still frozen where he stood, mind reeling at who was here. '_What is he doing here…? Why is he here now_?' "Seeing as how you never come around unless you need something Riku."

The brunet easily pictured Riku's lips contorting into a grin. "Psh. Whatever you say Sonya."

"Sora are you there?" _Shit._ He'd shifted his weight, and a board had creaked just slightly. '_Isn't this a new house? Creaking boards already?_' Internally groaning, Sora slowly pressed out into the living room. He saw Sonya first. She was leaning against the archway that lead into the kitchen, apron tied around her waist. It looked as natural on her as a collar did on a dog. When the brunet didn't see anyone else in the living room though, he frowned.

'_Was I just imagining it?_' After all, hadn't he been hearing a lot of voices himself lately? Sora cringed at the thought, even if it was true.

"Yeah, got lost." He wanted to kick himself again. _Lame_. So _lame_. Who the hell got lost in a tiny house?

While Sonya seemed willing – again - to brush off his poor excuse for snooping, Riku didn't. Sora saw him press into the archway just next to his mother, though he heard his voice first. "How do you get lost in a house this small?" _Of course he'd ask the obvious question, the jerk_.

_Of course_.

For a flash of an instant Sora's mind reeled back in time as he glared purposely at the other teen. "Well it's a new house, Riku." His words left him snappily – he wanted to wipe that cocky smirk off of Riku's face the split second he saw it. "I'm still getting… I'm still… I'm…" His voice died just as his heart started to sink.

'_Shit._'

Both Sonya and the silver-haired male seemed taken aback by his response. They weren't the only ones however that were stunned – Sora was too.

He went rigid. It'd been so easy… so _easy_ to fall back into his old routine of fighting with his friend. And here he'd thought it would've been hard – Sora suddenly found himself wishing that it actually _had _been hard. He wished he'd taken that acting class his mother had tried to make him take in eighth grade. He wished…

He wished the ground would open up and swallow him whole at that exact moment. Sonya was staring at him, mouth agape, while Riku just continued looking at him, eyes widening as his smirk died off his face gradually.

"I mean…" Sora fumbled. It was suddenly hard for him to talk. "It's a new house to me. I heard her say your name and…" He faltered momentarily.

"You're Riku… right…?" _At least he was trying right_? The brunet stopped then. Not because he didn't want to continue making himself sound like even more of a fool, but because his eyes had finally latched on to the silver-haired teen's own. Sora's heart seized itself in his chest, beginning to pound harder and louder than it'd ever done before.

God.

_Riku hadn't changed at all_.

He'd always been envious of his friend's good looks growing up. Riku had been the center of his existence, along with Kairi. There'd been so many times that he'd resented the other boy, simply because he'd caught the way that his redheaded friend had looked at him in appreciation. It hadn't helped that Sora had been nursing his own affection for their female friend – more often than not, _Riku_ had been the one who'd interrupted them. Every time they'd been alone it'd seem like _Riku_ would just magically show up and thrust himself into the picture.

Ironically though, now that he thought about it, hadn't Kairi done the same whenever he'd been alone with Riku?

Sora's mouth was drying out as he stared at the other male. He felt like the liquid in his body was being burned from his system – or drawn out of him. Either way, it left him feeling paralyzed. '_You've barely changed_.' Riku's eyes were the same greenish-blue as always. The hue had always reminded him of how the ocean waters color seemed to shift when the first rays of sunlight hit it – that transitioning color as it went from the dark blue of the night to the peaky-blue that it held during the day. '_They've gotten slight darker_,' he realized suddenly, still staring. They were more of an aqua-green than blue now.

'_You grew your hair out too_.' It was longer than before. A _lot_ longer. In fact if Riku hadn't kept his body firm over the years Sora would've deemed him as being a woman. It made him look feminine, the way the silver locks dripped down over his high cheeks and framed his pale, beautiful face. '_Beautiful?_' Sora was taken aback by the word that'd come to mind. '_Riku's not beautiful he's… He's… Riku_.' The brunette could feel heat collecting along his cheeks as he stared. '_Look away Sora.' _He cursed himself silently_. 'Quit staring, they're going to get the wrong impression_!' Finally, he managed to tear his eyes away from his friend's own to look elsewhere.

He immediately regretted it.

Sapphire-blue eyes stared right at a toned chest. Lightly formed muscles were easily visible under the black muscle shirt that was on the other boy's chest. It pretty much clung to his body, leaving nothing to the imagination, before the hem of it finally folded out over a set of much-looser tan khakis. Sora's fascination inspired, he continued staring at him. It was suddenly impossible to look away, and he knew without a doubt that his face was probably beat red at that moment.

'_What is wrong with me?_'

"Well umm…" Sonya coughed. It didn't snap either of the teens out of it.

If Sora would gather the courage to look up, he would've caught sight of Riku doing just the exact same thing that he was: staring. The silver-haired male's posture was rigid, fingers formed into fists that were pressed into his sides. The male's cheeks – no, not just his cheeks, but his face – was aflame as he stared back at Sora.

It made the situation all the worse when the brunet finally looked up and caught his gaze.

Both of them looked away immediately, this time at nothing in particular: the walls, the floor, the furniture. The heat was burning throughout his entire body.

'_What the hell is wrong with me?_'

"I think I should be going home Sonya," Sora heard Riku say, though it was distant, like he was still upstairs snooping on their conversation.

"Are you sure Riku?" Sonya's expression clearly stated: _it's just a little tense right now - things will lighten up_, though neither of them saw the look. Riku was staring intently at his exit from the house, while Sora was staring at the stairs. _When was that hole going to show up and swallow him again?_

"Yeah. I'm not feeling too good for some reason." _Suddenly_. "It was nice meeting you Sora." It was the oddness to Riku's tone – something that he couldn't quite place – that made the brunet look back at him slowly. Sora's gaze drifted over to catch the sight of the silver-haired male just as the door was jerked open. He winced. "You two have a good dinner." '_What's wrong with him?_'

'_Or better yet… what's wrong with me?_'

"Okay," he heard Sonya say, though her voice came to him in just the same way that Riku's had: distant, like he was hearing an echo.

The door was shutting.

Sora stared at the back of Riku's head, heart still hammering, stomach still clenching. Just when he thought it'd close the motion was slowed – the silver-haired nymph slowly glanced back over his shoulder. Sora saw this in slow motion. Every inch of the action approached gradually, until finally Riku's face was twisted back to look at him.

Their eyes met briefly, and then it was over. Time sped up. The door shut, and with it, Sora's emotions and energy were swept out of him.

"Sora are you alright? Riku isn't normally like that." His mother sounded anxious. He knew that she was staring at him, uncomfortable and not sure what to say. "I think he just wasn't feeling good, but wanted to come over and meet you. He's really a doll when it comes to helping me out…" Sonya's words were lost to him, falling on deafened ears. Sora's gaze remained fixed on the door, willing time to rewind – just for a few seconds – just so he could see Riku's face again. _His eyes_.

He wanted to see that emotion in them that he hadn't understood until that moment.

Had that been…?

Recognition?

'_You remember me_.'

Or were his hopes just getting a hold of him again?

* * *

**End Chapter**

* * *

**A/N:** Woooooo. Don't ya love slow progression guys?

R & R.

Things will be picking up in pace after this chapter, so fear not.


	4. Ch 3: Natural

**Disclaimer:** I do not, in any way, shape or form, own Kingdom Hearts or the Disney movies associated with it. This fanfic is purely made for the enjoyment of random people who like reading made-up stories. :D

"Speaking."

'_Thoughts_.'

_Flashback/Dream_.

My chapters keep getting longer and longer. Oh. Noes.

Anyways, eennjjjooyyyy.

* * *

**Chapter Three: Natural**

* * *

'_Indifference?_'

'_Was he just… feeling weird?_'

Or maybe… '_Maybe his mom put him up to it? Make the sad-kid feel more welcome?_'

Sora's fingers curled into fists, gripping the blanket about his waist angrily at the possibility of _that_ being the reason Riku had come over. It'd been a steady decline over the last seven hours since the other boy had left, where the brunet's thoughts had at first started positive before finally reaching this point: rock bottom. Some small, irrational part of him believed that Riku might actually remember him, though he knew deep down that that probably wasn't the case.

'_The reason he left like that was because you were staring at him like an idiot, Sora_,' he chided himself, letting loose an exasperated sigh. After several seconds of prolonged abuse, Sora finally released his hold on the soft material of his blanket. '_I was practically ogling him like some high schooler_.'

He cringed.

Wasn't he a high schooler though? That made it a little better, right? Boys and their hormones, _right_?

For some reason he felt worse trying to reason with himself over why it was_ alright_ to look at his friend like that. Or acquaintance… Or _whatever_ they were. Sora's stomach clenched unpleasantly as the thoughts persisted, washing over him like fire catching to a patch of dead wood: starting from the top before making its agonizingly fast-paced way down to the roots, leaving nothing but ashes in its wake.

'_I'm not gay. I'm not bi. I'm…_' Sora blinked.

'_Why am I even debating this?_' Riku's face flashed into his mind, the star-bright locks making his illustrious aqua orbs stand out all the more against his pale features. '_I'm straight_.' His face persisted in his mind however, leaving Sora hesitant to continue along the direction his thoughts were taking. It made him uneasy how long it'd taken for him to finish that thought, like his own mind was still debating over the matter. '_Why am I even thinking about this? I just got back and I'm acting so stupid._' Thinking stupidly, too, though he didn't feel like admitting that to himself right then. Sora tilted his head to the right, glancing out the window. He'd stacked his pillows up so high that he was very-nearly sitting up rather than lying down, though it'd given him the view of the ocean that he so longed to see.

It was amazing how much he'd missed such a simple sight. Seeing Destiny Island's lapping waves was different than the waters he'd lived in while visiting Ariel and her crew. In fact, now that he thought about it, he hadn't even been reminded of the oceans back home when he'd been in Atlantis. '_I wonder how she's doing anyways…_' He hadn't even gotten a chance to tell her goodbye before her world, like so many others, had been locked away from him forever. With another confusing thistle of pain unfurling in his stomach, Sora quickly shifted over on to a new subject.

_Was there anything he could think about that wasn't going to make him feel sick to his stomach?_

Sora reached up and pressed his fingertips against his forehead, willing the headache that was starting to form to go away.

An awkward dinner had ensued after Riku had 'fled' from the house. Sonya hadn't said anything regarding his odd behavior, which the teen had been thankful for, but it'd resulted into an almost-silent dinner at which his mother had only once attempted to make light conversation while Sora had sat there, wallowing away in disbelief over what'd just happened. The dinner that she'd been so excited for him to eat had been burnt partially, due to the drawn out failure-of-a-conversation that the younger brunet had tried tempting her into after Riku had left.

Both of them had temporarily snapped out of their embarrassed stupors when they heard the smoke alarm going off. The fish that she'd prepared that'd been baking in the oven had apparently gotten too crisp for its liking; when she'd propped open the oven door and a wave of smoke had washed out into the kitchen, Sora was sure that his mom had nearly burst into tears. After throwing the meat away, Sonya had produced her back-up plan that was already days old: they'd eaten square bobs of sushi for dinner.

The teen hadn't had the nerve to mention aloud that he hated the stuff, not when Sonya had been staring at him so hopefully. When he'd finished and they were clearing the small table, Sora had done the proper thing and told her he still appreciated the gesture and that the sushi had tasted wonderful, even if he'd felt like vomiting.

_Further down the road he'd casually mention to her that he didn't like sushi. He just hadn't had the heart to give her another reason to feel bad_.

Sora's compliment had seemed to lighten Sonya's mood, and in turn had alleviated some of the tension that'd formed between them. After flicking through the channels on the TV for an hour or so, his mother had deemed it time for her to go to bed (at eight o'clock no less, which had disappointed Sora); he'd followed shortly after realizing how alienated he felt, being alone in the living room.

_That had been five hours ago_.

Now, roughly two in the morning, Sora still hadn't been able to sleep. His nerves were alight with fire, fuelled by the center of his thoughts: Riku. It very nearly seemed impossible to think about anything but the other male, which was bringing on a wild torrent of emotions that were centered on the simple question of: '_why am I being affected like this?_' This, of course, lead to another question that made his stomach clench in anticipation and excitement:

'_I can't wait to see Kairi_.' A pleasant heat slid over him, settling low in his gut. He tried to ignore the fact that the heat presented from his thoughts about Riku was still clinging to his body. '_I wonder what it'll be like seeing her again._' A slow smile made its way onto Sora's face. '_I bet she's so beautiful_.' His cheeks started to warm at the thought.

This was _right._

What had he been thinking, wondering if there was something _wrong_ with him in _that _department because he'd overreacted to seeing Riku?

'_It'll be different tomorrow_,' Sora thought, pleased with this conclusion. The idea helped relax his nerves and settled some of the heat that'd been coursing through his body. After several seconds of musing this over, his eyes began to drift shut finally. '_I'll hang out with him again tomorrow, and things will be fine. Just like they were between us before I left_.' He fell asleep without another disturbing thought entering his head.

* * *

**Riku – 3:17 am**

* * *

'_Where the hell is it?_' Another box dropped, hitting the ground so loudly that for a brief moment Riku froze and looked up towards the ceiling, half-expecting his mother to wake up and ask him what the hell he was doing. Once he realized (again) that his mother was still, indeed, not here and on her business trip, the teen relaxed and returned to his second-favorite hobby of the night: going through his entire house looking for a certain box.

His number one favorite thing to do that night, if anyone had bothered asking him, would've been just as simple: dissecting the enigma that was located just forty yards from his house.

_Sora_.

"Who the hell are you?" Riku asked aloud, even if he knew that he wouldn't be receiving an answer in return. It was nice hoping though. After spending another ten minutes tearing through the downstairs closet (and then spending another twenty shoving all the boxes back inside), the silverette angrily slammed the door shut before stepping back. A light sheen of sweat had taken over his body, showing off to anyone who might've crossed him in that unlikely moment that he'd literally been going throughout their three-story home, up and down the stairs, over and over again, sifting through the closets and the home's long-forgotten attic to find a single box.

He could still picture the label of the box that'd been taped onto it all those years ago: _Childhood Photos_.

Riku drew in a ragged breath while reaching up to drag his hand through his hair roughly. '_I know him. I've met him before._' He was positive of it. He'd never been surer of anything in his life, and it was so damn frustrating that his search to find something so simple and miniscule was taking all the energy out of him. _And with no results_. Still, despite his failure in this location of his home, Riku persisted on, slowly dragging his tired self up the stairs to the second floor. For a moment he stood still once he hit the landing, glaring around the living room, perturbed and annoyed as he sifted through his memories, trying to remember where she'd put the box.

'_I hope she didn't throw them away_.'

Riku sighed, casually leaning back against one of the pristinely-white walls. The tiled floor beneath him was cold, coaxing his toes and the bottom of his feet to go numb as time pressed on.

Why did it matter, exactly, whether or not he even found the photos? '_I'll see him tomorrow anyways. I can just ask him if we've met before…_' He didn't like that idea simply because it sounded so cliché, but what other choice did he have? '_Judging from the way he looked at me he must've recognized me too. He had to of_.' To say Riku was unfamiliar to people looking him over him appreciatively would've been a lie – to say he didn't _enjoy _it whenever it happened would've been a lie too. Call him vain, call him _whatever_, he knew that if anyone else had been in his position they would've been lathering up in the heated looks sent their way. At least he didn't act on it every time he saw someone giving him elevator eyes.

There were few occasions where he had _ever _acted on it, even.

Riku shook his head before taking in another ragged breath, nostrils flaring as he tilted his head back and shut his eyes. His mind immediately drew back in time, readily summoning the other teen's flushed, heated face.

_Sora staring at him like that had been different though_. At first the brunet had just looked at him as if he was seeing through him rather than seeing a solidified figure. And then, it was like watching a spinning coin settle on the side it was destined to lay: emotions had crashed into his _beautiful_, _blue_ eyes like nothing Riku'd witnessed before. It wasn't like the normal lust he generally felt when eyes ran over him; it'd been deeper than that, stronger, _full_, crammed to the lid with a heat that'd festered over years and years of -

Alright, maybe he was blowing it up in his mind _just a little_, but hell, who wouldn't have in his position? Riku wasn't below exaggerating things to make his ego a little bigger than its normally over-sized state. (Tidus had really ruined his day, after all).

That still didn't change the basis of it however: Sora had given him _that_ look, and his own body had reacted to it both accordingly and against his will. More than that, after things had begun to settle (at least he assumed it was settling) an overwhelming set of emotions had all but consumed him. The split second Sora had finally looked up at him for the second time and their eyes had met, Riku's mind had been blown: it'd made his heart hammer and his chest clench tightly as a tender, bittersweet feeling of attraction and infatuation started taking over all coherent thought. _It'd felt like he was being possessed, taken-over_. Riku felt as if he'd been staring at someone he'd been smitten with for a long time. It hadn't just been a heated lust he'd felt in response to Sora's ogling – but a desire fueled by _need_.

And it'd scared him. It'd scared him so deeply to feel such a sudden, strong sense of affection towards someone he couldn't recall ever _meeting _that he'd forced himself to leave before he'd snapped. Sora's gaze had strung him like a bow, tightening him, and testing his strength of composure before letting loose – except Riku had managed to dodge being released, and had instead fled to his house, still tight and rigid… Still…

_Hard_.

Riku groaned, thudding his head back against the wall. He'd wanted to avoid thinking about that. He wasn't the type of person that did flings or got aroused by boys with big blue eyes staring at him – let alone _boys_ with blue eyes that he'd only talked to face-to-face (if he'd even done that, which he _technically_ hadn't) for a few seconds. Hell, he'd never been seriously attracted to another male before, and for some stranger to be able to do this to him after being in his company for such a short amount of time…

"I can't believe this," Riku uttered to nobody in particular, cracking his eyes open. '_He must be from another world._' The thought came and went casually, despite the truth to it, unknown to him. '_Some alien that's casting a spell over me.'_

'…_.he's making me cheesy too. God, I got to avoid this kid._' Sonya had done a real job picking this one out. Riku had known him for a total of thirteen hours and Sora had already done him in mentally. '_I should give him an award. It took the others months to break me down_.' The other episodes hadn't broken him down necessarily, but they'd eventually ragged so deeply on his conscious that they'd become a nuisance. Sora wasn't a nuisance – he was this budding seed in the pit of his stomach that'd grown to his full maturity in a matter of hours, rather than the days, weeks, _months_ it should've taken him to germinate.

Riku's lips scrunched up at the mental visualization that presented him with. '_I'm so sad, letting this get to me_.' When he felt his own fingers graze against his boxers, he immediately jerked his hand back, startled, before pulling himself away from the wall. After a few seconds of soothing his fired nerves by breathing deeply and focusing on how clean the ground was beneath his feet, Riku silently did a mental check on what was happening:

_This new foster kid of Sonya's was really getting to him._

_He'd just spent some six hours or so – give or take a few minutes – raking through his house to find a picture he wasn't sure existed (though he felt like it did). And the reason for doing this? -Because Riku didn't want to admit that he felt like one of those stupid people in those romance movies who were struck by 'love' at first sight._

_Jeez._

_He was losing his fucking mind_.

"This is nonsense." '_What the hell is WRONG with me?_' Riku shoved forward, and in a remotely-childish manner stomped towards his room, annoyed and frustrated over _everything_. He slammed the door open and was pleased to hear the knob on the other side of it smash into the wall, before stepping inside. Not bothering to close it or take his shirt off, the teen fell into his bed face-first. Riku felt above his head for his pillow before drawing it over his head, clutching it to him, groaning loudly.

He'd see Sora tomorrow, and when he did, Riku would _know_ that had all been a huge mistake. _All of it_. Sora would just turn out to be another episode of Sonya's that he'd enjoy the company of.

That's it.

_Nothing else_.

As if in retaliation to this thought the brunet's face came to mind. All Riku could see of it were his two deep, blue eyes, piercing through him like an arrow; the harder he focused the more the silver-haired teen was able to see: _like his own eyes staring back at him, reflected in Sora's depths, showing off how lost he'd been in the brunet's eyes_.

It was sickening.

Yet why did it feel so good?

Why did it feel so…

_Natural?_

* * *

**Morning – 6:37 am**

* * *

Cold water struck him over and over again, and despite the fact that it'd been hitting his flesh for the last five minutes, Sora still felt like he'd just taken his first step under the showerhead. His teeth were chattering, skin shivering, and body feeling as if it was soaked to the bone. Finally having had enough of his self-forced torture, Sora twisted the knob off and killed the water. The keyblade master stood there for several seconds even after he'd done this, simply watching the water swirl around his feet before disappearing into the drain.

'_I wonder what today's events are going to bring…_' Trying to forget the thoughts that'd been clinging to him minutes prior to his shower, Sora stepped out and calmly proceeded to dry himself off – as calmly as one could while their whole body was trembling, that is. Not bothering to mess with his hair this time around, the teen was quick to dress his damp figure in jean cut-offs with a loose white shirt. It didn't hug his figure, but didn't hang off of him either. After finishing his outfit with a pair of ankle-whites, the brunette shut the bathroom light off and left the room. Subconsciously his fingers reached up to press against the keyblade pendant around his neck.

Sonya was already up and busy, as she had probably been for hours already. By the time he'd woken up this morning he'd already heard her down below, hustling and bustling about in the kitchen. Despite not getting too much sleep - a whole four hours of it (if he'd even gotten that) – it had fuelled him with the amount of energy that ten would've done the normal person. He felt oddly refreshed. He felt _better_, today, despite the persistent thoughts still clouding his conscious from yesterday – and apparently, to make things better, he'd gotten over the majority of his 'Reality Shock' too, seeing as how he could think about his mom and not feel like crying.

"Morning," Sora's lips tugged up into his usual smile as he stepped into the kitchen. Sonya's back was to him. She was leaning against the oven, cooking something that smelled heavenly. Immediately his stomach started to growl; at this, she glanced back over her shoulder at him, grinning.

"Morning sleepy-head." Her words and tone sent a pleasant emotion through him. "Hungry?"

"Yeah." Smiling again, Sora slid into one of the chairs of their small table. "What's on the menu for breakfast?"

"Pancakes!" Sonya moved and lifted her spatula up, showing off one of the pancakes she was cooking. Again, stronger this time, the younger brunette's stomach growled. His cheeks flushed as he laughed, reaching up to scratch the back of his head. "Sounds great." As she returned to what she was doing, casual conversation broke out between them. That fake sense of normalcy claimed him, subjecting him to the security and pleasantry of being in the company of his mother for the few brief seconds he was allowed before something broke it.

"Did you sleep well?" After gathering him a plate of two and her the same, Sonya settled across from him.

"Yeah I did. Best sleep I've had in… a week, to be honest," Sora dumped a plentiful amount of syrup on his food, mouth watering at the sight and smell of the round objects. He'd missed this. "You?"

"Yep! Going to be a busy day." The brunet glanced up at her as he chewed on his mouthful before swallowing, hesitant as to how he should take this. '_Busy as in you're spending it with me, right?_' The question never left his lips, however. Instead he let his silence prompt her into continuing. "I normally don't do this, but I thought…" Sonya was biting her lip; Sora knew what this meant, given he himself did it so often when he was anxious. "Well, you seemed to be taking everything really well."

'_Maybe a little too well_,' she mused to herself silently.

Sora stared at her intently, thinking the same exact thing.

"And today is sort of our prep-day at the bakery." Guilt hugged every word leaving her lips. "For the oncoming week." She twirled her fork, looking up from her pancakes at him. "There's only three of us working there right now and it's a new business…" Sora didn't let her finish, even though his stomach and heart were both sinking into the pits of his gut. '_I guess I pulled being 'okay' off too well._'

He really did need to look into taking some kind of theatre class once he got enrolled.

"It's okay. I can figure out something to do, Mrs. Hikari." Sora picked at his last pancake, suddenly not so hungry, though Sonya appeared to be having the opposite reaction: she ate away faster. His heart clenched painfully as he realized she probably would've stayed, if he'd just asked…

"Riku will probably be over. He offered yesterday to show you around," she said in-between bites, smiling brightly, "He's really a sweet kid – really helped out with the other foster kids I've taken in." This made him cringe. Apparently Riku's looks had not only improved, but his general personality. The doting tone to his mother's voice made his stomach wring anxiously. "I think he just wasn't feeling too well yesterday," she continued. "I believe he said he'd be over by noon so I could have my way with you first in the morning." Sonya's mood and spirits seemed to have lifted so much by his allowance of her to go to work that Sora didn't have too much else to say besides "that's cool". If Sonya took notice of his deflated mood, she didn't make it obvious.

He hadn't wanted to think of Riku yet. After last night's traumatic mental session, Sora had been looking forward to a morning free of the silverette – he still intended to keep his decision that'd been made last night about seeing him again today, but for his mother to bring him up… _After telling him she'd be gone all morning too, no less_. Sora had half a mind to open his mouth and ask her if she'd stay with him until Riku got here, but stopped midway, realizing how selfish that'd be of him. He wasn't a selfish person. The Keyblade Master was supposed to be a _selfless_ person, bidding to the needs of _others_ before meeting his own.

With this personal motto in mind, Sora looked back up at her and smiled brightly. '_I can do this. It's not like I won't see her again._' That didn't stop the bite of disappointment as he listened to her jab away before finishing off his own food. '_I'll make her dinner even! It'll be a surprise_.'

'_This is normal_,' his mental pep-talk continued. '_People go about their daily lives. Babies cry in their cribs. Children play all day. Parents go to work. Retired Keyblade Masters…_ '

Hung out with their oblivious home-world friends and went to school.

_Right_. He could do this.

Yet an hour later as Sora stood on their porch and watched Sonya wave at him from her car, he very nearly began to believe he couldn't do this. Once she rounded the block and her small beamer car disappeared from sight, the brunet turned around and headed back into the living room. For several seconds he just stood there, looking around the room, hesitant.

_What the heck was he supposed to do until Riku got here_?

* * *

Whether you were a guy or a girl, the one thing that could drive a person completely insane was this simple thing: trying to find the right thing to wear. Sometimes, one didn't understand why you were trying so hard in the first place, especially when you were the type of person who could wear rags and look amazing. The irony though? – that it was the people who looked good in general who usually put more thought into their outfits, while the people who were less appealing to the eye proved to wear more relaxed, unfitting clothing.

Riku, admittedly, was one of those people who tended to go back and forth between being an extremely self-conscious person to someone who positively didn't give a damn what anyone thought of him. Today was one of those rare days when he was putting one hundred and twenty percent into making sure nothing was out of place. While he knew he should've been disgusted by his own actions, it helped a little that he kept telling himself that he was doing this just because he felt like looking _good _today, not because he wanted to see his neighbor's face when he sauntered up to him.

Riku stared at himself in the mirror, pleased with his final decision. His shoulder-blade length hair was pulled back into a lazy ponytail, while a few of the longer strands fell down to frame his face; the color of it – the same shiny-silver that his father's had been – brought out the green tints of his aqua-irises. At times Riku hated the fact that he seemingly wasn't able to tan, but at that moment he was glad he didn't: his pale complexion just brought out the lightness of everything else. A semi-tight pair of dark blue jeans hugged his hips, fanned out around his legs, before tightening again around his feet. A mostly-white vest jacket hugged his chest (accompanied by a black t-shirt underneath it, though only the sleeves were visible), and his final piece to the ensemble was a pair of black sunglasses that were perched atop his head.

'_I look good_.'

A satisfied smirk tugged up the corners of his lips. Riku had gone through his mental-list of the activities that Sora and him could do – if Sonya had decided not to stay home, and had spared the younger brunet the scarring experience of helping out in her Bakery, that is – and had settled with a relaxing agenda. After all, seeing as how Sora was apparently new to the Island… It was only the proper thing to do, showing him around, right? The _friendly_ thing to do.

Riku stared at himself for another five minutes, before turning around and heading back into his room. He tore off his more expensive clothing and slid on a pair of white cargo pants, as well as a form-fitting gray pullover and sandals.

_There was no point in getting dressed up when he was trying to prove to himself that he wasn't attracted to him._ It was hard accepting the idea that he'd really just spent an hour trying to find an outfit to wear to impress the brunet, but he'd finally grasped onto the reality of it.

Cursing himself, Riku headed out of his house. Sora's dazed face was still clinging to the edges of his mind. The sound of his voice was echoing in his ears. Every time he focused on the brunet that unfamiliar surge of emotion wracked through his entire body, rendering him helpless and needy. There hadn't been a moment since he'd woken up that his new neighbor hadn't been present in his mind, and watching the time tick by slowly had been almost painful.

That hadn't compared to the possibility that Sonya might've taken Sora with her to the Bakery. Thinking about that had made him feel even worse. The silverette fisted his fingers before shoving them into his pockets.

'_I'm losing it._' Riku knew he was, because he'd never felt like this before, and if he _had_ he was sure it wouldn't have been for someone he didn't know.

Thank god he was going to realize how much of an idiot he was once he saw Sora again. It'd take all of these conflicting feelings away. By doing this he was proving to both his conscious and his body that he didn't know the brunet. '_And if the feelings stay? Even if Sora says he doesn't know me?_' Riku didn't like the answer that he'd finally settled on pertaining to that very unlikely scenario.

'_It'll prove I'm losing it. Or…_' He made a sharp turn up Sonya's driveway, noting her car was gone. When he saw the little note on her door, Riku's heart leapt in his chest nervously. '_I'll just have to accept that some kid's got me hooked_.' It left a bad taste in his mouth, the idea that **he** was experiencing one of those 'attraction at first sight' ordeals that he'd seen countless times in the movies but… '_Oh well_.' That would mean Sora really was something special, right?

'_That, or he's really an alien_.' Riku chuckled. His eyes narrowed in on the note pinned to the door:

_Sora decided to stay home. Have fun Riku! Show him around. I should be back by five. – Thanks, Sonya._

No point turning back now. Riku knocked on the door three times and waited.

No response.

He knocked again, louder this time.

Nothing.

Annoyed, the teenager rasped against the wooden frame harder.

Still nothing.

'_What the hell is he doing? Taking a shower? Asleep?_' Riku caught himself from smiling at the thought. He twisted the knob finally, and the door opened with ease. Stepping inside, he didn't hear anything at first. The silverette began to frown again. '_Did he try running away?_' One of the other episodes before him had done that. Nix had tried it several times, but the chicken had always wound up coming back before Sonya noticed he was gone. Riku shut the door and started up the winding staircase. By the time he hit the second floor he heard something.

'_What was that?_' His brows knitted together as he walked down the hall, positive he'd heard a voice…

"DIE YOU JERK!"

Riku froze, blinking several times. '_What…?_' He hesitated once he reached Sora's bedroom. The door was shut. '_Should I go in or…?_' Or more importantly, why on earth was the brunette saying for someone to die?

'_God, he isn't… cutting himself, is he?_' If he was then why would he be shouting? Riku's heart picked up its pace. He gripped the doorknob, still unsure.

"Just die already!" It was the strain in Sora's voice that made him jerk the doorknob and shove the door open.

What Riku expected to see and what he did see were two different things. Sora leapt to his feet, dropping the object that he'd had in his hands. It took the silverette several seconds to realize that the thing he'd dropped had been a remote control. It took him just as long to realize that the brunet actually wasn't cutting himself, but was actually… '_Playing a video game._' Riku fought off the heat rising to his face as he stared at the TV incredulously, where "End Game" was flashing at him. Slowly, he drew his eyes over to finally look at Sora.

Riku couldn't stop from smirking at the blush on the brunet's face. Smugness enveloped him. Crossing his arms over his chest, he leaned against the doorframe casually.

"And here I thought I was coming to stop a suicide mission," it was both hard and easy keeping the smirk on his face. It was even harder keeping his composure, given every nerve in his body felt like it was alive and burning again just by being close to Sora.

'_It's even worse than yesterday_.'

"No, I'm just sucking at killing zombies. Sorry to deprive you from rescuing me." Sora came back at him, laughing as he attempted to brush off his embarrassment. The unexpected lust and appreciation in his eyes from yesterday had disappeared. It left Riku with a sense of loss and anger that he hadn't expected. '_Had I imagined it?_' He wasn't _that_ sad, was he? – having to imagine that Sora had looked at him the same way he'd done of him just to keep his conscious happy? Or rather, keep his ego content?

"I suck at it too." Riku stated. "In fact, I suck at most video games. Sooo unless you want to keep up with this," he was startled at how easy it was to talk to him, "I suggest we go to town and get something to eat and then give you the grand tour of Bellaire." Riku was smiling harder and bigger than he had in a long time as he stared at the brunet.

"Sounds good." Sora's lips pulled up into a smile that made Riku's chest clench unexpectedly.

As much as he hated to admit it… it felt _good_, being in Sora's presence. It felt good feeling like this: windswept, anxious and happy. Being with the male felt as natural as being with any of his other friends, minus the intense attraction and desire he had to pre-

'_No, best not to even go there yet_.'

* * *

"How can you not like coffee?" Sora felt like he'd answered this question already – oh wait, he had answered that. Yesterday with Reggie.

"Because I just don't like it." Why was it so hard for people to grasp this? "It tastes like crap." Did there need to be a better explanation?

"Your taste buds are crappy." Immediately the brunet glared at Riku, sticking his tongue out at him. Sora slid his fingers around his glass of soda, purposely taking long drinks of it while eyeballing the other teen. It gave him extra time to think of a smartass comeback.

"You want to know what I think." It was a statement, not a question, and Sora sounded rather confident as he continued after setting his glass down. "I think you're just jealous because I won't be a fat like you'll be in a few years from drinking all that crap."

Riku's nose scrunched up at the mental vision. Sora watched the other teen glance down at his macchiato, where he was sure the extra whip cream he'd ordered was being visualized as turning into clumps of the offending substance. The brunet smiled smugly as the other male hesitated, before simply rolling his eyes in an exasperated manner.

"Right," he started, finally looking up to catch the younger male's eyes. "You say that now, but when you see how well I take care of myself you'll be singing a different tune."

"You'll be happy to know I take care of my body," Riku finished.

'_I can see that_,' Sora mused to himself, though he kept the comment to himself. It'd been hard not looking at Riku too much for the last hour, as much as he hated admitting it to himself. It'd gotten easier to control the impulse however – especially when he'd realized how much more tamed his emotions had been when he'd seen the teen in his doorframe this morning. Sora had never felt more relieved than at that moment. And Riku… '_Riku looked way better this morning_.'

He hadn't looked like he'd been on the verge of running out of their house again at the sight of him. That was a plus, right?

Yesterday had definitely been a fluke.

And everything was fine now – no, it was better than fine. Everything was perfect.

"You play on a sports team?" Sora had no interest in sports; he was more curious as to what Riku had been up to over the last four years.

"No." The silverette scoffed. "I don't play on any teams. I did track two years ago." At this Sora wasn't surprised. Riku had always had a talent for running, especially when the two of them had pursued racing each other on a daily basis back on their Island. "We won nationals, you know." He liked the way Riku's smile remained permanently etched onto his face, like he too was rejoicing in being in his company again. It almost made Sora feel like they were really on the same page, and were just catching up with each other.

"My friends Tidus and Wakka are on the Blitzball team. Tidus is team captain, as surprising as that is." Riku leaned back in his seat and casually folded his arms behind his head, glancing away from Sora to peer out the window. Suddenly he looked back at the brunet and grinned once more. "When you meet them you'll understand what I mean by that. Tidus is kind of…"

"Slow in the head?" Sora finished for Riku, already knowing what he was talking about. "Don't tell me he's blonde too?"

"Oooohhh yeah. Big time." Both of them laughed at this.

"Did you play sports? You look more like the academic type than someone who plays ball or anything." Did he really? Sora was actually beginning to question himself – had he just come to look smart over the last few years, or was there just a hidden intelligence to himself he hadn't found yet? "Not trying to be mean or anything. You look good and all," Riku stated this unabashedly, reaching out to grab some of the fries from their plate.

Sora tried and failed to ignore the way Riku's eyes linked directly to his, causing a shiver of heat to draw up his spine. It forced him to look away, not sure whether to be comfortable or uncomfortable at the emotions found in his friend's gaze.

"No. I did swimming for awhile." That wasn't too much of a stretch from the truth was it? "And martial arts." …that wasn't either, right? Sora noticed with a sense of pleasure as Riku's eyes widened in shock. The silverette leaned forward in his seat again, surprise melting into suspicion. He knew without a doubt what was going through his mind: he thought he was jipping him.

"Yeah right."

Sora couldn't stop the smugness from touching his smile. "Right. I'll prove it to you any time and kick your butt, Riku." He loved the familiarity of his name rolling off his tongue. '_I could set you on fire. Or drown you. Or electrocute you._' Sora could utterly destroy Riku's whole world in a matter of seconds, and it filled him with a disturbing sense of superiority over the other male. He'd never reveled in knowing that he was stronger than somebody else unless it'd been a bad person – even with Hercules, who was supposedly part god, or Cloud, or Leon, or any of them. And yet when it came to Riku, the idea of it thrilled him.

Riku had always been so much better than him before any of _this_ had happened.

The silverette swiped his hand through his hair, rolling his eyes at him again. That same disbelieving look clung to his expression, fueling Sora's conviction over the feeling. "I wouldn't hit you though. You've got such a pretty face." At this Riku seemed to tense, like the brunet had offended him in one way or another. Seconds later, this was proved correct when the other male looked at him dead-on.

"I'm not pretty – I'm gorgeous. Get it right, dork," Riku stated coolly.

Sora flushed, glaring at him. "I'm not a dork."

"I'll believe that the day you manage to lie me flat on my back."

"You'd be surprised what I'm capable of."

Riku smirked at him, casually stirring his drink with his straw. His stare was becoming more intense. "You'd be surprised what I could do to you." His voice had dropped a few octaves, though whether this was done unintentionally or not, Sora didn't know.

It didn't matter. The effect still came either way.

A mental image that Sora didn't appreciate came to mind immediately – he knew that Riku had said this purposely now, given he was suddenly looking at him _that_ way again. The _look _that made his body freeze up with heat and made his insides churn in uncertainty. It wasn't as strong as the look from last night, but it still affected him the same, level of intensity set aside. '_I thought that was just a mess-up. Confusion. I thought…_'

Riku's gaze persisted without falter. '_He has to realize he's looking at me that way. He has… to…_' Sora forced his eyes away.

'_He's flirting with me_,' he realized. He suddenly felt stupid. '_Why is Riku flirting with me?_'

The old Riku had never liked him like this. Riku liked Kairi – Riku had always liked Kairi, and Sora had known that. It's why… It's why he'd never let Sora be alone with her.

_Right?_

'_He has to be doing this subconsciously_.' While Riku had been a remote flirt back in middle school, he'd never flirted with him, let alone any other _guy_. '_He wanted to share a paopu fruit with Kairi even._' Sora suddenly tensed, a horrifying thought coming to him, inspired from his last.

"Are you dating anyone?" The second those words left his lips Sora immediately regretted it. A couple a few tables down from them glanced over at the two males. '_He's going to think that I'm interested or something._' His stomach squeezed at this realization. Immediately he looked away from Riku, knowing his whole face and neck were probably beat red.

"Nope, I'm not actually." For some reason Sora felt like this should've surprised him.

_Are you interested?_

Sora heard Riku's words in that same odd, echoing fashion, as he'd heard him in last night. The pleasurable heat that'd filled him surged to a higher temperature.

"Are you?" It took Sora several seconds to realize Riku was asking him this. The couple a few tables away had finally looked away from the two of them.

"No. Never been one for dating or dealing with that kind of drama. Waiting for…" The brunette hesitated, words that he had kept at the back of his mind hesitantly resurfacing. "For college."

"You say that and you seriously expect me to believe you could kick my ass?"

'_It's amazing,_' Sora thought, slowly looking up to glance at Riku. The silverette seemed oblivious to his mental freeze from earlier. His pale brow was arched, smile still present, like nothing particularly meaningful had been spoken between them.

'_It's amazing how easily you affect me._'

"I know I can." Sora was irked to see that none of the other teen's confidence seemed to dwindle, despite the conviction to his own voice.

"Believe it when I see it," Riku repeated.

"Would you boys like anything else?" Their waitress appeared out of nowhere, startling Sora into looking away from Riku's intense gaze. Just like that, the tense mood that'd been present between them lifted. The silverette instead cast his charming, lucid eyes and smile on the blonde before them. She blushed, as was expected of someone caught under that type of look.

Sora ignored the rush of anger he felt at the sight of it.

"No thanks. Got all I needed." Riku glanced back at him then, smirking cheekily.

* * *

He saw her when they were leaving the mall. It was just for a flash instant, but he knew it was her. Sora's blue eyes zoned in on the delicate figure walking far ahead of them, immediately recognizing the red hair that was swaying back and forth. Beside her was another girl, though it took him a few seconds to recollect on who she might be. Once it hit him though, Sora was all the more convinced that it was definitely her.

_Kairi… and Selphie._

"It's almost five. Sonya said…"

Sora didn't even realize Riku was speaking to him until the other male's hand was upon his shoulder. Slowly, he tore his eyes away from Kairi and Selphie's departing figures to look at him.

"Sora, are you there?" Sora blinked at him. "Who were you looking at? Someone you know?" He wasn't sure what to make of the sudden sharpness to Riku's tone.

"Thought it was someone I knew," he stated off-handedly, torn between his excitement at spotting the other two and his confusion over Riku's reaction. The silverette's hand was still pressed down on his shoulder; Sora pulled away from him after a few moments, making sure to keep his gaze settled on anything but him.

Since leaving the café things had remained forcibly light between them, as if Riku knew he might've pressed too far with his obvious flirting. '_If he was even flirting_.' Sora was half-convinced he was interpreting everything wrong. Who was he to be an emotional analyst, when he'd spent more time fighting people than building relationships over the primary years of his hormonal infestation?

Things hadn't been uncomfortable necessarily, but even Sora in all of his naivety had noticed the change of air between them. Riku had grown bolder, his expression more open - he'd spent almost the last two hours of them walking around staring at the brunet. It hadn't been with _that _look, but rather as someone who was beyond curious and immersed in their company. Sora had been more than aware every time Riku's eyes had been upon him, given he'd felt his body warm every time it'd happen.

He suddenly wished Kairi and Selphie hadn't disappeared from view.

"What were you saying?"

Riku looked annoyed at having to repeat himself. "I said Sonya wanted you to be back by five." It still felt weird, hearing Riku call his mom by her first name. "There's a movie I wanted to see that I think you'd like starting around then. I could call her and leave a message saying we went to go see it or…?"

Sora's gaze narrowed. For some reason, he couldn't help but feel that Riku was testing him somehow, despite the fact that his expression was innocent. He looked like he wouldn't care one way or another with what he chose.

'_What should I say?_'

His mouth decided for him. "I guess we should be heading back. I don't want her worrying or anything." Something indiscernible flickered into Riku's gaze, but it was gone before Sora could decipher it.

"Alright." The older teen started to walk again.

"Sorry."

Riku glanced over at him as they started walking. "Why're you apologizing?"

For some reason he couldn't look at him. "Just felt like I should."

The walk home was an insufferably long one. Sora broke the silence several times to attempt conversation, but Riku's responses were oddly exhausted and half-hearted. It left him in limbo, wondering what was wrong with him. Only thirty minutes ago he'd been chattering nonstop – all smiles and interest, and now…?

Riku's hands were stuffed into his cargo pants. His sunglasses were drawn down over his eyes, even if clouds were beginning to sift over the sky and it really wasn't necessary to be wearing them.

"What's your number?" Sora asked once they were inside of his house. The air was uncomfortably tight between them. So much that it was almost hard for him to breathe. "It'd be cool to do something again. I had a lot of fun today Riku."

The silverette didn't respond at first. He was looking at him in a funny manner again. Sora looked away.

"Here." He watched Riku tug loose a sticky note off of the counter. He wrote his cell number on it, before handing it over to the brunet. "I had fun too." There was something misplaced in his tone. It made Sora's stomach clench in unease.

"I'll see you later then?" He asked, following Riku to the front door. It was just hitting five o'clock. Sonya was bound to be home anytime. "Riku?" Sora's tone lowered at the lack of response. Riku opened their front door. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

'_No you're not_.' His tone suggested so, if Sora was interpreting right.

"Hey Sora." The brunet fell suspect to Riku's gaze. He felt like he was being scrutinized, and it bothered him how he couldn't look into the other male's eyes. "Have we ever met before?"

Sora hesitated.

And then…

"I don't think so."

Riku's hidden gaze persisted for several seconds, before the older teen slowly nodded.

"I'll see you later."

Sora watched him leave, for some reason unable to respond. He kept watching until Riku finally made it to his house and disappeared from sight. At that exact moment, Sonya pulled up in her small car, brakes announcing her return before anything else. She got out of the vehicle, waving at him. She was smiling. She'd obviously had a good day.

"Just get home?"

Sora nodded.

"Did you have a good day with Riku?"

"Yeah, I did," he said softly. Sonya's smile only persisted as she ascended the steps towards him.

"He's real easy to be around huh? I'm sure you two will be good friends while you're here Sora."

_Naturally, of course._

* * *

**End Chapter**

* * *

A/N: This was the last chapter I had uploaded under my other account Sobertouch. I'll be updating in a few days, but I'd like getting some input back before then – just to see if anyone is even reading the story. Heh.

-Devilbiter.


	5. Ch 4: Friends

**Disclaimer:** I do not, in any way, shape or form, own Kingdom Hearts or the Disney movies associated with it. This fanfic is purely made for the enjoyment of random people who like reading made-up stories. :D

"Speaking."

'_Thoughts_.'

_Flashback/Dream_.

Onto the long-ass chapter!

Enjoy,

Devilbiter.

* * *

**Chapter 4: Friends**

Can't live without them.

* * *

"_I can't relax for five minutes?" She looked taken aback by how angry I sounded. It made me angrier, looking at her – she wasn't helping any, standing there with that clueless look on her face. Why didn't she understand how important this was to me? How important he was? _

"_V-," her blue hair was damp, pressed against her skull. "We have to keep looking. You need to relax and keep it together."_

_Keep it together?_

_I wanted to laugh at her, but I couldn't. Instead, I stared at her, as silent as if my lips had been stitched shut. _

'_She doesn't understand.' _

_She doesn't miss him like I do._

_Tearing my eyes from her, I looked back over at the ocean before us, soaked to the bone and covered in wet sand. After my brief excursion in the water I'd laid out along the sandy beach, content in my peace, until she'd started up about needing to go. I'd snapped - just a little._

_I had a right to though, right? I am just human._

"_Come on." Aqua sounded annoyed now too._

_I looked harder at the lapping waves, hating that I felt bad for letting myself act out like a normal person, even if just for a few moments._

'_Where are you, Terra?'_

* * *

Sora didn't open his eyes. He kept his fingers clenched against the edges of his blanket, which was pushed all the way up to his chin. His entire body was warm, comfortable, and he didn't want to ruin the moment by opening his eyes to face a new day. It was Sunday morning, and he'd been both dreading this day and looking forward to it all in one instance. It was his last real day of being able to hide away from the entirety of everything, given tomorrow, Monday, meant that he was actually going to take his first real step back into the life he would've been living the last four years if the Keyblade hadn't chosen him to be its master.

Sora nuzzled further into his blanket, breathing in the clean linen scent of the soap that his mother used. He'd felt restless that entire night, mind struggling to dissect Riku's sudden show of disinterest – or was it really disinterest? Maybe he was just tired? – but his mind had been clueless as to how to peg his friend's attitude. More than once he'd been tempted to call the number he'd left him, but Sora had refrained from doing so for one simple reason: it was too soon.

Too _soon_ to act so friendly.

'_He seemed like he was having a good time leading up to us leaving the café,_' Sora thought, biting his bottom lip. He rolled over, shaking his head. '_And then it all changed and he started acting like I'd blown him off or something. What's his problem?_' The brunet groaned as his mind persisted down this well-worn road. Sora had been around so many different people in his few years of travelling that he felt as if he knew how to handle just about any situation (or person) that threw themselves at him. He'd _dealt_ with crazy: Hades, Pete, Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatters – those were just a handful of them. He'd managed being around the stoic, anti-social types that bore hidden pasts: Cloud, Sephiroth… Leon, even, to an extent. He'd made good friends out of the overly-friendly ones, such as Yuffie, and her much-softer friend Aerith. Sora had experience dealing with people and being able to read them, given it had practically been his second job as the Keyblade Master.

But Riku?

The guy he'd known growing up?

Sora had no clue what was going on through his head.

'_I'll call him when I get up,_' he decided, nodding. No one could see him do the gesture, but it made him feel confirmed over his decision. '_Or maybe I should just go over there and see what's going on… I could use the excuse I want his opinion on which classes to take_.' Sora blanched, feeling a headache about to come on just from thinking about school and classes. He had practically nothing to wear, he hadn't taken a formal class that hadn't involved magic and fighting in over four years, and to think he'd be jumping back into math and English and science and history.

For a moment he wondered just how much money Reggie had secured him. '_Maybe it'll be enough to live off of the rest of my life? Or I could be one of those magicians and do magic – no one would even know that it wasn't actually real magic!_' The thought ignited a childish, almost euphoric laugh from him that he did his best to muffle with his pillow. '_I'm going crazy_,' he thought, chuckling. Sora sat up after a moment and let his much-abused blanket pool around his waist before reaching up to rub the wetness that'd collected around his eyes and scratch off the sleep. He dared sparing a glance at his alarm clock. It read 5:23 AM.

'_If I hadn't left this world… I don't think I'd ever have woken up this early and actually felt ready to get up._' Sora's smile dimmed some, settling into a fainter one as the thought washed over him. '_I'd probably be complaining about having to get up at six in the morning for school. Well,_' the teen threw his legs over the side of the bed and got up, grabbing a pair of khaki shorts and a blue shirt before heading to the bathroom, trying to be quiet so that his mother wouldn't wake up – if she already wasn't awake, that is. '_At least mom won't have to worry about me being late for school ever again, let alone having to get me up._' It was with this thought in mind that he flipped on the bathroom switch and stepped inside, preparing to take a shower. He'd missed out on making her dinner before she got home last night, and he figured that he'd at least be able to compensate for it by making her some breakfast. Riku's and his expeditions had lasted longer than he thought they would, that was for sure. It'd been hard telling him no to seeing whatever movie it was that he wanted to go see, and even now he was wondering if he'd made the right decision by coming home first.

Sora scrubbed himself raw almost, so lost in thought as he monotonously cleaned himself. After he'd dressed the teen pushed open the bathroom door and stared down the hall to his mother's bedroom. The light wasn't on.

Relieved he opened it all the way and stepped out into the hall before heading downstairs, mind reeling back through memories to try and remember what his mother's favorite breakfast had been. Once it hit him, Sora almost smacked his forehead, before setting about finding the blueberry pancake mix he knew was there as well as getting the nutella.

He ignored the fact that it'd be a bit odd for him to know what her favorite breakfast was (never mind the fact that it was his favorite too), and decided to go ahead with what he'd planned.

* * *

'_Riku.. I wonder what he's thinking about. Was he mad because I didn't go to the movies with him? Does he think I don't like him or something? Or am I just over thinking everything?_' Sora fiddled with the keychain wrapped around his neck, absentmindedly running his fingers along the smooth metal. It was warm to his touch, comforting as he paused between pancake flipping. The sun was up, the house smelled like food, and he could distantly make out Sonya upstairs plodding around. He wasn't surprised when she made it to the kitchen and let loose an exclamation of surprise and relief.

"Sora!"

He turned at the call of his name, dropping his keychain and instead reaching up to scratch the back of his head while he smiled at her brightly. She was staring at him in a peculiar way, as if she'd just had her wits thrown all about her.

"Yeah? I'm making breakfast. I was hungry and slept good… Got up awhile ago and figured I'd make us both something." Sora paused for a moment, before adding in a cheekier tone: "Since you're being so nice and all for taking me in. I didn't scare you or anything did I?" He chuckled nervously, not sure what to make of her odd expression. After a moment passed she relaxed visibly, nodding at him before approaching to take a peek at his layout of food.

"Oh no, I was just surprised. You're definitely and interesting fellow, I'll give you that. I saw your bedroom door open and didn't see you in it, and I thought for a moment that you might've…" Sonya bit her bottom lip, saying without speaking what was going on through her mind as she spared him a nervous glance from the corners of her eyes. Her attention was taken moments later and pushed in an entirely different direction when she spotted the nutella sitting on the counter innocently next to a plate.

'_Did you think I'd run away? What kind of kids has she been letting into her house!_' Sora felt a pang of guilt, knowing that the only reason she'd even done that sort of thing was because she'd been lead to believe she'd been childless. He hadn't pestered the redhead counselor for too many details pertaining to his mother's life after he'd left (he'd known that it would just make him feel bad) but he hadn't thought she would've taken on anything – or anyone – too out there. From the way she was talking and the occasional looks she spared him, he almost felt like he was suspected of going crazy at any second.

"You like nutella on your pancakes? I do too! It's my favorite – I never thought I'd meet another person on this earth who did like it!" She exclaimed, beaming.

Sora just grinned at her, letting his musings from minutes prior slip away.

There wasn't any need to worry about that type of stuff, given Sonya would _never_ be taking in another kid into her household beyond him, ever again.

"Are you sure you dialed the right number?"

Sora's eyebrow twitched at her tone. 'As if I don't know his number!'

He tentatively checked the number scrawled on the paper one more time before dialing it in again, checking between each button press. He pressed the phone to his ear and waited, listening to the endless ringing that followed.

And waited.

And waited.

And then…

"Hey, you've reached Riku's cell phone, but apparently I'm not in the mood to answer. Leave a message and I might get back to you!" Sora leaned back against the counter, frowning at the voicemail message. It wasn't – or at least it didn't feel like it was – normal for Riku to not answer his cell phone. He suspected that his friend was popular at the school he went to, especially with his good looks and charm. So he was either actually ignoring him, or he was blasting his ears off to music. His phone was obviously charged, given it'd just rang only ten million times.

Sora's good mood was fouling, quickly, and it wasn't just because of the giggles erupting from his mother as she watched his scowl.

"Hey Riku, it's Sora, from over at Ms. Hikari's house. I was just wondering if you'd want to hang out or something – I'm kind of lost on what classes I should take and…" _God, could he sound any cheesier?_ "I don't know. Figured you could help me out and tell me which classes to avoid so I don't get stuck in a class with a crabby teacher."

_People did this, right?_

_Teenagers did this? Gave tips on the "easy" teachers and the "bad" ones?_

Sora bit his bottom lip nervously. "Anyways, guess I'll catch you later. Thanks for hanging out with me yesterday." '_Yeah, he's definitely going to think I'm really lame._ _Thanking him for hanging out with me? Ugh!' _Sora hadn't really been popular in middle school – his fame and acceptance had been largely brought on because he was a friend of Riku, who'd been popular. Even Kairi had been a social butterfly of sorts. Sora had always been the one lagging behind in the friend department, outside of Wakka, Tidus and Selphie. Even they had been more-so friends with Riku and Kairi than him. '_Well,_' he corrected himself, smiling wryly as he set the phone down on the receiver, '_I'm just lacking in the Friends-From-Destiny-Islands department_.' He had plenty of friends elsewhere. Far from here.

Sora mentally envisioned how it'd blow over if he told people that he had lots of mermaid friends in Atlanta and he even knew a couple mice, a duck, and some talking dogs. Oh, and he also had plenty of human friends, but they were also from other planets.

'_I'd be in a mental institution by the end of the school day._'

He let loose a helpless, nervous laugh.

"Riku not pick up again?" Sonya was grabbing her car keys from the table. Sora just nodded at her. "Well, I can help you out. I mean, if you don't mind having an old woman be seen clothes shopping with you. We can swing by the high school too and talk with a counselor. Does that sound alright to you?" Her tone was teasing, though there was an underlying serious tone to it. Sora knew how important his mother viewed education, even though he was already positive he'd be failing at even the remedial classes. It would only look suspicious if he took the lowest-level classes he could, too, given Reggie had done him the courtesy of making him "intelligent".

Sora made a mental note to himself that if he ever saw the redhead again, he'd set his bum on fire.

* * *

He and Sonya spent four hours at the mall. It was an embarrassing situation, but after Sora had refused to try on clothes and show her for about the fifth time, she finally caught on that people (a group of giggling girls he was positive went to the high school he'd be attending) were paying a bit too much attention to them she'd let it drop, bless her. An hour of the time was spent eating at the food court, before Sora and Sonya had finally left, carrying two full bags each respectively. The brunet had offered to pay her back once Reggie allowed him access to his own money, but the gesture had only proved to offend his mother.

She'd looked at him, abashed, as if he'd just slapped her. "I don't have anyone else to spend any money on except myself. I'm enjoying buying you new stuff, Sora. You lost everything in the fire," she'd said, eyes brimming with tears, "and I think I can get you a few clothes so you feel good about yourself on Monday. Lord knows you'll be getting enough attention as it is."

Sora had conceded with a tight chest.

If he'd known they'd be walking out with so many new clothes – that were entirely just for himself – he wouldn't have allowed her to do it though. He didn't complain or comment on it besides a faint thank you while they drove to the high school.

Bellaire High School was brick building after brick building, each knew square containing Classes from Hell bigger than the last. Sora was intimidated when the pulled up to the front and parked, and it'd taken more than a little prodding from Sonya to actually get him out of the car. He knew that Donald and Goofy would've guffawed at how cowardly he was acting, given school really wasn't all that big of a deal when you had to fight off people who wanted you dead pretty much every minute of every hour of your day. This thought and his friend's mental encouragement that he'd made up himself gave him the courage to walk into the empty building. It was clean inside, lockers lining the main hall, but he and Sonya headed straight to the Counselor's Office, where a blonde woman was sitting looking none-too-pleased with whatever she was looking at on her computer.

She looked up as they approached and instantly smiled at Sonya. Obviously, she was familiar with her. Sora looked between the pair curiously, before realizing why they knew each other.

_The other kids._

The thought must've crossed both Sora's mind and the counselor's, because both of their smiles fell once their eyes connected.

"Hello. Sonya told me she might be getting a new student, but I wasn't expecting you so soon. You must be Sora, right?"

_How many people had she __**told**__ that he was going to be living with her?_

Five minutes later as she retrieved a pamphlet containing the classes their school advertised, Sora found himself seated on a cushioned seat, staring at the table, feeling very strongly that things weren't going to go well for him here. The counselor had been rattling off about the various AP courses they taught, each one sounding harder than the last – she even mentioned that he could probably skip a grade level, looking at his past record. Sora grew paler with each word that fell from her lips, and was so white by the time she settled across from him that Sonya was patting his hand, asking him if he felt alright while looking at him worriedly. He mumbled a faint "I'm okay" while the blonde woman leaned across the table, flashing open the catalogue and skipping through pages so quickly he almost felt like he was having arrows shot at him and had half a mind to raise his arms and guard himself.

He felt nauseous as the two women jabbered away excitedly, gossiping while leaving him to look at the classes on the pamphlet.

'_I wish Riku was here_.'

Riku would know what to say to make this better for him. To make him feel better. A bitterness rose in his throat as he stared at the catalogue hopelessly, looking between the highlighted classes that he was allowed to take. He was a Junior. A Junior. Weren't people at sixteen Sophomores? Sora finally dared peeking at his transcript, which had been set to the side.

He looked away quickly after taking a minor glance at what he'd "taken" before this year. And then, something occurred to him that made him look back quickly, brows knitting together in confusion.

'_Wait a second_…'

His eyes wandered over his older schedule quickly, before his gaze dropped down to the "Credits Earned" and "Credits Needed for Graduation", and felt his stomach drop in utter disbelief.

'_I already completed the necessary English requirements for graduation… And math!_' Those had been his worst subjects. The only classes that were actually required of him to take was a science and government course, which meant…

Reggie had purposely situated it so that he to pretty much only had electives to take.

'_Maybe he's not entirely evil_,' Sora thought to himself, stunned as he sat there. A smile – his trademark beaming smile – broke out over his face, and moments later he started to laugh, for once relieved and almost excited to be here. '_I guess I owe him something else beyond letting me stay with him for a few days. Maybe he does like me, and I just judged him wrong. I haven't really been feeling like myself._' Even Sora wasn't so ignorant as to believe that he'd been acting normal and happy these last few days – maybe his mood had rubbed off on Reggie?

"_Jeez. You don't listen at all. I'm thinking about changing what I wrote about your academic scores. They're gonna think you're retarded."_

Sora's cheeks burned hotly. '_No, Reggie is an asshole, and this has to be a fluke._'

"I was thinking.." He started, interrupting the squabble that his mother and the counselor looked on the verge of entering. They stared at him intently, their cheeks somewhat flushed from the breakout of the hen-fight that'd been about to occur. "I was thinking I'd focus on some electives this year, since I only have a science and government class that I need to take. It'd be kind of nice to take it easy this year and just have some fun and relax, if you get what I mean." He'd added that last bit not because he really wanted to – after all, Sora hated being pitied above all else – but because he knew it was necessary for him to get away with this plan. The counselor did look piteous, but there was a sharpness to her gaze and he knew immediately what she was thinking. It was the same expression that had been on his eighth grade counselor's face when he'd been talking with her about his future high school career. That look that said: _I understand, but slacking off your last two years won't look good on a college application_.

Sora bit the inside of his cheek while rubbing his hands together under the table, looking from the blonde's taut expression to his mother's. She looked accepting of his idea. He was sure she'd approve of whatever he decided at this rate.

"I understand, especially after all that you've been through Sora." Said-male almost jumped when the counselor reached out and patted his shoulder empathetically. Her momentary disappointed seemed to have disappeared, and her jovial smile had returned as she scooted over to sit near him. She smelled strongly of perfume, and the potency of it reminded Sora of the kids who practically bathed themselves in it to hide the smell of pot and other drugs on them. He wondered if she did anything illegal. "I'm so sorry you've had to experience such a thing at your age, let alone at all." The blonde lady shook her head before continuing.

"Well, we can either set you up with a schedule today and see how you like it, or you can take a few days and figure out what it is you want to do and think things over with a clear head and decide in a few days. There's no pressure for you to go back to school right away – our school is very understanding of your circumstance. In fact!" The woman was playing the nice card too much, Sora thought, shifting away from her so he didn't start coughing at how suffocating her scent was. "We weren't anticipating you showing up with Ms. Hikari here until next week! Not that we aren't glad to have you here though, of course. I'm happy to see that you're handling things so well. Just so you know, we have a grief counselor at hand, and if you feel at any point tomorrow during school – _even while in class_ – that _right now_ _**isn't**_ the right time for you to return to your academic career, it's _okay_, Sora."

He realized what her real intentions were halfway through her speech, and felt acidic bitterness burn up to his throat like he'd just swallowed venom.

"No," Sora finally got the nerve to speak again, tone quivering. Both women were staring at him, and both of their expressions softened further at the sound of his voice. Neither of them would ever know that he sounded like that because he was holding in the urge to cough and pull away from the counselor. "I know what I want to take, and I know what I want to do this year. If I change my mind or want to take a different class, you'll be the first person to know."

* * *

**Riku**

* * *

"_Hey Riku, it's Sora, from over at Ms. Hikari's house."_

He stared at his cell phone, which had been placed on the center of his chest as he lied in bed, tired.

"_I was just wondering if you'd want to hang out or something – I'm kind of lost on what classes I should take and… I don't know."_

Riku nudged the side of the metal contraption, turning up the volume. The Sora speaking through to him from the voicemail sounded exactly like the male did in person. It was unnerving.

"_Figured you could help me out and tell me which classes to avoid so I don't get stuck in a class with a crabby teacher."_

The silverette's lips pulled into a smile against his will. He could picture Sora standing in Sonya's kitchen, flustered that he hadn't answered. Once Riku realized he was grinning, he hurriedly wiped it clean from his face, even if it wasn't like anyone but himself _knew_ how ridiculously happy hearing Sora's voice was making him feel. Even if it was just a voicemail, the male's effect on him was undeniable: his voice made his mind feel overwhelmed and his body tight, while picturing him and what he might've looked like when he'd left the message made him shiver in amusement and pleasure.

"_Anyways, guess I'll catch you later. Thanks for hanging out with me yesterday."_

Riku hit the replay option after he was prompted to delete it or save it, and listened to Sora speak again. Part of him felt childish for not answering his phone just because he was trying to make a point to himself. Part of him was glad he hadn't, because he didn't think he could stand looking into the brunet's sapphire blue eyes again without doing something extraordinarily stupid_. Like hugging him_. That was the least appeasing idea of Riku's mental collection of "Things He'd Like to do to Sora" list; the list had been growing larger and larger, starting from last night after he'd dropped Sora off and given him his cell number.

After he'd left the brunet and made it into his house, the first thing he'd done had been take a long, hot shower. By the time he'd been finished with himself, and remotely satisfied the pent up feelings that'd developed into a… _physical_ one, he'd set about tearing through his old school yearbooks, looking for a Sora Hikari, but his search came up with nothing. He'd toyed with the idea of calling the teen before passing out last night, but had decided against it.

He didn't want to look too desperate, after all.

Though Riku was sure that Sora had flirted back at him last night on their outing. It'd been so easy hanging out with him that it'd just intensified his surety that he knew him. Sora had talked with him like they did went out all the time. The only difference was that Sora wasn't quite treating him the way that Riku had anticipated him to after the way he'd looked at him when they'd first met in Sonya's house the other night. Those desperate, needy blue eyes that had raked over him were gone, and the Sora he'd spent yesterday with had looked at him with friendly intrigue, like he'd been more interested in Riku himself rather than Riku's looks.

Well, the situation was entirely degrading, Riku thought, given he couldn't help but feel he'd made it rather clear to Sora that he liked him a bit more than as a friend at this point. Or at the very least he was attracted to him.

'_And who the hell doesn't find me attractive? Another species maybe, but not a fricking human._' Riku's good mood was shattering. Sora hadn't looked at him once like he had the other night, and to say it wasn't killing the silverette's enormous ego was an understatement. He'd followed the brunet all day yesterday, showing off the city to him, talking about himself like he'd never talked to anyone else before, and all the while he hadn't been able to tear his eyes away from Sora once. He'd felt desperate. He'd felt like_… Like what he assumed one of his own stupid fangirls felt when they saw him walk by in the hallways at school_.

"…_hanging out with me yesterday."_

Riku angrily hit the red button.

"**Message delet**-" The annoying female robot voice was cut short as he turned off speaker phone. The silverette leaned up in bed, pressing away at his Pantech, not stopping until he came across Tidus's number. He sent him and Wakka both the same text after a few moments.

_Do we know a Sora Hikari? Did he go to school with us?_

He received an immediate response from Tidus. The blonde male was as much of an attention whore as Riku refused to admit he was.

_Um no. Y? U like him? Who is he?_

Riku rolled his eyes, snorting. '_Stupid Tidus._' Apparently the blitzball fanatic had forgotten all about what'd happened on Friday, which meant enacting revenge would be all that more easy. He swore the blonde had some form of short term memory loss. Wakka's response was slower, but more satisfying. He hated reading Tidus's **Stupid Text**, whereas their carrot-haired friend at least had the decency to use proper grammar while messaging. It was one of Riku's many pet peeves when.

_Isn't that the kid whose parents died in that fire a week ago, ya? _The message was quickly followed by another from Wakka. _We don't know him. I don't know him at least, ya. Why are you asking?_

Riku felt oddly inspired to only respond to Wakka, so he did such. _Sonya took him in. He's going to our school. I just thought he looked familiar or something._

Wakka buzzed him back, quickly this time. _He's not psycho like the others, ya?_

Riku hesitated. Sora's sun-kissed skin and his big blue eyes appeared in his head, and he felt a shiver of heat shoot up his spine. _No. He doesn't seem like it. But I can't shake it from my head that I know him Wakka_. He hit send slowly, not sure how Wakka would take his words. His reggae-loving friend was by far the most relaxed of his group of personal friends, but even he wasn't used to texting the male about some guy who wouldn't leave his head. He'd start thinking things – things that Riku wasn't really willing to talk about or admit to. There'd been rare instances that he'd come across a guy he found remotely attractive, and the once instance that he had? He'd liked him before he'd found out that he was a guy. Did that really even count towards his "possibly-bi" chart?

_Ask Kairi?_

Riku grunted at Wakka's response. He got up and pulled some jeans on as well as a silver jacket that hugged his frame. '_Ask Kairi, huh? Right. Haven't talked to her in four years, and he wants me to just ask her out of the blue if she knows someone named Sora. Riiighhttttt. That'll blow over just swell, right after she asks me if I've gone crazy or why the hell I'm texting her. Besides,_' he mused darkly, pulling his long silver strands up into a ponytail. It was getting annoyingly long, and he knew he'd have to cut it soon. '_I don't even know if this is even her number anymore._'

Riku stared long and hard at the "Kairi" contact in his phone.

It didn't hit him until a few seconds later to ask himself why he even had her number still.

"Ask Kairi my ass."

He ate. Messed around on his computer. Went out to the beach. His day was spent alone, which wasn't really normal for Riku, but he didn't really feel like being in anyone's company. _Scratch that_. There _was_ one person he wouldn't mind being around, but… Not until he got a grip on himself, even if that meant not talking to Sora until his body cooled off.

By the time nightfall hit and Riku's head hit his pillow, he'd received countless messages and phone calls both from people he knew and didn't have a clue as to who they were. He didn't respond to any of them. Instead, the highlighted bar on his screen had remained hovering over Kairi's phone number.

Finally, exasperated, he pulled out his cell and flipped it open again. The screen lit up as it always did, and his old friend's number shined at him innocently.

_Hey Kairi… It's been awhile. I was just wondering.. Do we know someone named Sora? When we were little?_

His thumb hovered over the send button. Riku stared at the screen, at her name, a cold rush making nervous tingles run down his spine. He remembered the last time the two of them had talked four years ago.

It hadn't been a pretty scene.

"_You're a bastard Riku!" She'd screamed at him._

It'd been the first time he'd ever heard her cuss.

'_She probably won't even respond to me._' He hit the green. Within a second (as if his phone had been eager to send the message) it blinked "Message Sent!" at him teasingly, cheerfully, like it was blissfully unaware of how much shit doing this might cause him. Riku and Kairi both made a point to avoid one another during school, and even when they'd somehow wound up in the same classes occasionally they never associated. There were no waves or "hellos". Hell, Riku eavesdropping on her and Selphie talk about their physics project had been the closest he'd gotten to some sort of interaction with his former friend. He waited with anticipation for her response.

Riku fell asleep as the night dragged on and he heard nothing in response.

It wasn't until almost midnight that he awoke with a start, phone vibrating against his hip. He sat up quickly, at first confused as to what was going on until he spotted his phone's bright light. Wincing at the brightness, he held it away from his face for several seconds before his eyes adjusted and he looked again.

_Sora?_

Riku's chest clenched. Did she know him! Maybe he wasn't going crazy. _You know him?_ He sent back.

His phone vibrated. Fingers shaking, he hit the open button to the new text.

_No. No I don't. Sorry. Bye Riku._

* * *

_It smelled like flowers and blood. The combined scents made me queasy, but I managed to get a hold of myself before Aqua noticed my sensitivity. I drew my cloak more tightly around me as we proceeded over the glossy white tower walls, and then darted along the siding of the looming tower above us. As the distance grew shorter between us and the echoes of a battle taking place not far from where we were, I could feel my heart start to beat harder, louder._

'_Terra has to be here,' I thought determinedly, fingers tightening around the keyblade pressed into my palm. It felt heavier than normal, like it too was growing tired of having to constantly be used for battle. _

"_Die!" The gruff call made both Aqua and I freeze. She glanced back at me, eyes questioning, hesitantly growing more and more excited by the second that passed._

"_Terra?" She mouthed at me._

_I felt a prickle of excitement draw up my spine._

"_It has to be him." I whispered back urgently. A sudden burst of energy seized me – or maybe it was adrenaline, I didn't know at this point – and forced me forward. I heard Aqua call out to me to stop and slow down, not to just run into another battlefield and get ourselves involved when it might not even be him, but I just knew._

_I __**knew**__ it was Terra._

_It'd been so long since I'd seen him!_

_I burst into the courtyard, grunting when my body collided with the metal gating. It jarred my shoulder for a few moments, but the pain was swept into the recesses of my mind when I saw him. Terra. The brunet was fighting against a few vagabond heartless, finishing them off with a fluidity that made me envious. Watching him fight was like coming across a panther taking down its prey: all power and agility._

"_Terra!" His name ripped past my lips. The male jerked at the call of his name, just finishing off the last heartless that'd attacked him before his eyes landed on me._

_My steps faltered at the sheer amount of displeasure in his face at seeing me._

"_Terra, is that really you!" Aqua's voice broke out from behind me. It startled me, but I couldn't tear my eyes away from Terra._

"_Ven, what are you…" Terra shook his head, disbelief clogging his voice. "What are you __**doing**__ here?"_

"_I've been looking for you." I blurted out, clenching my free hand to my chest as pain laced through me. Not the physical type of pain, but the emotional pain of rejection that always accompanied you when you realized all the efforts you'd been putting together to help someone, to __**find **__someone, was all for no reason. Terra looked annoyed that I was here. His face didn't just express it, but his voice. _

_I felt…_

_I didn't know how to feel._

"_I… Let us join you. We've been looking for you for so long…" My voice was starting to shake. I stared at him desperately. He crossed his arms over his chest, eyes dark. His handsome brows were drawing together, as if he was contemplating the best way to say-_

"_No."_

_Whoever came up with that silly saying that words could never break your bones or cause you any sort of pain? They were a liar._

_I felt as if my entire world had just been shattered, and my point of existing, in that moment, no longer ceased to exist._

* * *

Sora sat up breathing hard. His heart was pounding in his chest. His shirt was clinging to him, as were his boxers, slick with sweat. The teen's head was pounding ferociously, like someone had just slammed a sledgehammer against it and then tapped it against pure silver. Sora jerked up and over his lap, wrapping his arms around his head as the pain persisted. For a few moments he thought that he was having a migraine, but the pain suddenly lifted from him after a few seconds of its persistent agony.

Sora breathed in and out deeply, not daring to move for several minutes, even after the pain had been long-since gone from his body.

'_That_ _was the second dream tonight. What is going on with me?_' His thoughts were as desperate as the shakiness enveloping his body. The first had been about him fighting a pack of heartless, making his way to Radiant Gardens. Aqua, the blue-haired girl from his dreams, had been present. She hadn't spoken to him this time around and he hadn't felt the urge to respond. And then this second one had followed it after he'd awoken the first time. Sora hadn't spent much time milling over the odd dreams that'd been accompanying his time unconscious. In fact, he'd thought they were becoming less and less frequent, especially after he hadn't had a dream involving himself, Aqua or Terra for the nights he'd stayed with Reggie.

"Is this some sort of revenge for letting me have some peace?" Sora whispered aloud, finally deeming it safe to sit up and stretch. He brushed the back of one of his hands against his forehead and winced at the amount of moisture he felt. How _hot_ he felt. The teen didn't look at his clock as he got up. He didn't bother showering this time, and instead just pulled on a pair of red shorts and a white pullover. Sora pried open the large window his bed was pressed up against and breathed a sigh of relief when cool air washed over him. The scent of the salty water did wonders to help soothe his fragile nerves, which felt as if someone had just injected him with liquid fire.

It was going to be a long day at school, he could feel it.

That feeling returned four hours later when Sonya dropped him off at the front of the school, clutching an unfamiliar blue backpack over his shoulder and his schedule in his hands. Tons of kids were passing by him – some pointed at him, whispering. A few people (primarily girls) giggled, but Sora was positive they thought he looked stupid and that's what was inspiring the reaction to the sight of him. His cheeks were burning long before he even stepped inside, and it only got worse once he was in.

The school seemed bigger than he remembered and the hallways smaller.

People were walking to and fro. There was a good twenty minutes before class was to start, and he knew the ideal thing would be to walk around a few times and make sure he knew how to actually open his locker let alone find his classrooms, but instead Sora found himself struggling through ten minutes of trying to find his locker. Once he did, he found it literally impossible to even open the damn thing. All the while he felt more than saw people looking at him, probably singling him out because he was both an unfamiliar face to the school and a tragedy all at once. He'd seen the paper that included a picture of him and the story of his house burning down, taking with it his parents. When Sonya had spotted him during the weekend looking at it, she'd hurriedly taken it and apologized profusely, telling him she'd meant to throw it out and was sorry if the sight of it brought back any bad feelings.

Sora hated to admit it to himself, but he was sort of glad that he was getting some time away from his mother. While the weekend had been a breath of fresh air, and before he'd even reunited with her he'd felt like he'd never want to part from her company again, the part of him that was still _teenager_ had wanted to break free from her presence so he could figure out what to do. So he could be with his own thoughts.

To decipher the code of his dreams – or nightmares, as was the case last night.

He wrestled with the locker for another minute or two, growing increasingly frustrated when the lock refused to open even though he'd entered the right code five times in a row. 3. 17. 12. Turn the dial left to the first number, right to the second, and back around 0 twice and finally to the third. The sticky note had been attached to his schedule, the writing delicate and bouncy all at once – he was positive his counselor had been the one to scrawl it out, if the smiley face had anything to tell. His mood was dropping from nervousness to sheer annoyance, until finally, completely and utterly frustrated Sora thudded his head against the locker.

More whispers.

"_Is that the new kid?"_

"_I heard his parents died… I wonder how he feels?"_

"_I feel so sorry for him. Can you imagine what he's going through?"_

Sora bit the inside of his cheek, feeling tears starting to form in the back of his eyes.

'_I can't do this. What am I even doing here in school? I can't be here. I can-'_

"Do you need help?"

Sora stiffened as if someone had just pressed a brick of ice to his back. He knew that voice, even if it was different than the last time he'd heard it. After his bones started to melt to normalcy once again, the Keyblade master slowly turned to face her.

Kairi.

"What're you doing silly-head?" Her voice was teasing as she smiled at him. "You can't open a lock like that Sora."

Sora tensed. He stared at her in utter disbelief. The noise in the hall filtered in his mind to the background, and all he could do was focus on her smiling, gentle face.

"What did you just say?" He breathed out finally.

"Huh?" She blinked. "That… you can't open a lock that way?"

"No no!" Sora shook his head, suddenly taking a desperate step towards her. "My name. You said my name."

"Oh. Yeah. Well, why wouldn't I know your name? The principal asked for me to help you out if you needed it. You're the new kid, Sora right? You just transferred from…"

Kairi's lips moved. Sora saw them moving, but he didn't hear her words. He stared at her. Her face. Her longer-than-he-remembered hair. The blue skirt and white button-up shirt that she was wearing – it was the customary female uniform for the school, whereas he was wearing a white button-up and blue pants. She had the same gentleness to her features that he'd always remembered her having. Sora felt both happy and deflated seeing her, and although he realized with a start that it was virtually _nothing_ compared to the peaked pleasure he'd felt at seeing Riku again, he shoved this to the back of his mind. He listened to her talk deafly.

'_Not even you, Kairi?_' He wanted to ask, but refrained. '_You don't remember me?_' The brunet flattened against his locker and shut his eyes. He felt Kairi's worried gaze on him, and heard her ask him if he was alright or if he needed a nurse, but Sora didn't feel like responding right away.

'_No one remembers me._'

The weight of it was heavy enough to make his knees shake.

'_Nobody. I'm a nobody here_.'

* * *

Sora found out that his first period, a study hall, contained several people he already knew. Some of them he didn't literally know personally, but their faces were familiar, drawing up memories of kids from middle school. Kairi had left him at the door of his first class with a friendly hug before departing, and he'd been at a bit of a loss as he'd watched her walk away from him. It'd taken every ounce of his control to turn around and step into the classroom and take a seat after handing his teacher (an older looking man who looked as if he'd rather be anywhere else but here) his slip. The man hadn't spared him a second glance, and instead told him to sit down and do his homework.

Sora had the nerve to ask him what he was supposed to do if he didn't have any homework, and the teacher had looked up, startled. Sora got the impression that he wasn't asked that – or let alone bothered by anyone – very often. _'He must have a boring job…_' The teen though, fiddling with a pencil while staring down at an empty notebook in front of him. He had been a complete dork last night, writing the names of his different classes in marker on the notebooks he'd bought. He had several empty binders bulging in his backpack, simply because by the time Kairi had gotten around to trying to help him figure out how to open his locker the warning bell had rang.

Sora absentmindedly nibbled on his bottom lip, occasionally reaching up to scratch the back of his head as he sat there. Each student had their own separate desk, but they weren't so childish (or neat, rather) as to have the added drawer that elementary school desks had. This was just a flat piece of wood. The seats were plastic and hard. Sora glanced left, then right, watching some of the students scribble away with books open while the vast majority of them appeared to be texting, listening to music (or both at the same time). There was the occasional person who was reading a book just for the thrill of it – or a manga, or magazine – but those were the rarest.

"Hey," someone whispered quietly nearby.

Sora didn't notice that they were talking to him until he felt a pencil jab into his back. He jerked, turning around quickly, when he realized with a start that…

"You're the new kid, ya?"

_Wakka!_

Sora's mouth hung open. The male had gotten even taller if that was at all possible over the last four years. His orange hair was still obnoxiously cropped short, held up with a blue headband. He was bulkier, more filled out too. "Yeah," Sora whispered back quickly, smiling. "My name's Sora."

"Oh I know your name, ya." Wakka had one earphone plugged in while its twin was dangling off of his opposite shoulder. The brunet heard reggae music pulsing in his dangling earphone, and grinned. "I'm Wakka. Just figured I'd say hi, ya? Riku was texting me last night about you. Didn't expect I'd actually meet you in class, ya?"

Sora's eyes widened.

'_Riku was texting to him about me?'_

Then why hadn't he answered his phone call?

"Yeah. I saw him last weekend. We hung out at the mall." Sora whispered, still grinning. The orange-haired male's lips were quirked up into a lazy smile, but the expression disappeared after a few seconds as a shadow fell over them.

"Ahem," a gruff voice cleared their throat seconds later, distracting him. Sora blinked. He turned back around and found himself face to face with the teacher, who looked particularly grumpy and unimpressed. "There's no talking in study hall!"

At the end of the period Sora and Wakka walked out of the classroom together, talking quietly about the blitzball team and his exuberant co-captain, Tidus. In his hand was a pink slip that declared Sora would be serving detention, but he didn't mind for some reason. It was his first day – his first period – and he was already in trouble, but he didn't care, because as he and Wakka walked down the hallway to their next class (what luck was it that they had the same second period too?), he felt normal.

Sora had felt intense excitement and nervousness around Riku. Kairi had inspired him into a state of relaxation. His mother had warranted a calamity of feelings inside of him. And Wakka? He was as nonchalant and relaxed and without a care in the world just as he'd always remembered him. Halfway to the Physics room Tidus pummeled into him from behind. Sora almost fell flat on his face when the blonde had jumped him from behind with an energy that no normal person should exude first in the morning – he'd wrapped his arms around Sora's neck and his legs around his waist.

"Jeez Wakka, ignoring me for the new kid? That isn't cool!" Tidus had squawked, the grin in his voice so contagious that Sora couldn't help but grin. The brunet craned his head back just enough to see Tidus's flushed face – was he bigger, or was it just his imagination? – before Wakka grabbed the blonde by his backpack and kindly detached him from Sora.

"He's better company than you and I barely know him. What can I say, ya? I prefer the Slim Jim over the Kool-Aid man any day. You're getting fat in the ass, ya?"

Sora laughed with Wakka at Tidus's expense.

"Hey Sora." The pair grew quiet when Kairi appeared around the corner, clutching a Physics book to her chest. She was smiling, just breaking away from a conversation with another familiar face: Selphie. She still short, still very chibi-looking with her blonde-brown hair pulled up into a high ponytail instead of her obnoxious childhood piggy-tails. _That was an improvment, at least._

"Hey Kairi. Thanks for getting me to first period." Sora grinned at her. The auburn-haired female smiled back at him, cheeks somewhat red.

"Ooooohhhh. So this is Sora, Kairi. He's just as cute as you mentioned he was!" Selphie burst into a torrent of giggles that made Sora turn red too. Kairi tried pressing her palm against the younger female's mouth but it was to no avail: she kept giggling erratically, and the longer it went on the redder Kairi's face grew.

"You know Kairi, Sora?" Tidus implored, strolling with the four of them to Sora and Wakka's next class.

"I met her this morning." Sora smiled at her. Kairi looked away. Selphie nudged her side with her elbow, giggling quietly. "Apparently the principal asked her to help me out. And then I met this loaf in first period." If Wakka was offended to being compared to something edible he didn't show it – the only response he gave was a "watch it, ya!", at which Tidus grinned.

'_I already like this guy,_' the blonde male thought, eyeing first Sora and then Wakka.

"So what's your next class, Sooorraaaa?" Tidus asked, his voice drawing out his name in a sing-song fashion. Sora rolled his eyes.

"Physics."

Immediately the blonde's face screwed up into complete disgust.

"Well, I'll be leaving the happy crew then. Off to Remedial English!"

The two girls and Sora and Wakka laughed at Tidus's exuberance. Once the male wasn't within earshot he asked something he assumed that everyone in the group was wondering.

"Not to be mean or anything but… Is he even passing that class?" Even Sora knew that was the lowest grade of English you could take.

Wakka shrugged. "I dunno."

"He isn't." Selphie pranced ahead of them, shaking her head. "I'm in that class too. He's failing." Her tone was eerily pleased by this, as if it would've been a disappointment to her if he had been passing it. "Any who, I should be on my way too then. I'll see you at lunch Kairi. It was nice meeting you Sora!"

"See ya." Sora waved at her.

Kairi pulled him into a casual conversation about the school, its extracurricular activities – once the topic of sports came up Wakka casually rejoined the conversation. The closer they got to Physics class the more Sora became aware of the quietness that was claiming the air between three of them, no matter how many questions or comments he made. The air was growing tighter, thinner, and it took him several seconds to realize why once he spotted the person heading towards them.

Riku looked like white smoke walking down the hallway towards them. He too had the white button up and blue leggings, but it hugged him a little firmer, nicer than the others' uniforms seem to. The people lining either side of the hallways seemed to unanimously move out of his way when he neared; Riku never had to walk _around_ someone. His silver hair was hanging loosely around his face and shoulders. He was tall and slim, with muscles defined through his clothing that showed off to anyone looking that he worked out. _And there were people staring,_ Sora noted, an unfamiliar knot tightening in his gut.

Sora reached up to wave his arm at him and started to say his name when Riku's eyes landed on him. He felt a shiver draw up his spine at the odd look in his friend's aqua-green eyes. It was a strong enough feeling that Riku's name died on his lips and his hand fell down to his side immediately. That look was familiar to him. He'd seen it somewhere, recently.

_It was the same stare that Terra had given him during his dream._

The silverette didn't say a word to him when he made a sharp turn into their Physics class.

'_He just blew me off._' Sora realized with a start. '_What the hell?_'

Even Wakka looked surprised, pausing midstep before continuing. Kairi was looking in front of them with a scrutinizing, angry expression on her face.

"I wonder what's up with him, ya? Bastard didn't even say hi to me." Sora didn't know whether to smile or feel worse when Wakka said this. The tension was so thick he could've cut it with a knife when he stepped into the Physics room. He was surprised to see Kairi walk in behind them, and that was when he spotted the book she was clinging to her chest - the same book he needed to stop by at the library and check out later.

"I have this class too silly." Kairi's smile was fake, and he could easily understand why.

Riku was pointedly glaring outside the window, seated to the far left, opposite of the entrance of the classroom. Wakka stepped away from Sora and took a seat in front of the silver-haired male, and once his book was set on his desk he turned around to face the man. He saw Wakka's lips move, then saw Riku's move, but he was too far away at this point to hear him.

"I sit over here. Maybe you'll get a seat near me?" Kairi sounded hopeful.

Sora didn't know how to feel.

His head was spinning as he approached the teacher's front desk and offered her his tab. She was an older woman with a mess of black-and-white hair pulled up into a bun. She had glasses on that enhanced her eyes, making them appear twice the size of any normal person's. '_She looks crazy_,' Sora thought, staring at her in stunned silence.

"Oh, you're the new student. I'm Mrs. Slinksi, but you can call me Mrs. Sly. Nice to meet ya!" Sora shook the hand she was holding out to him, and was startled when she shook it firmly. '_She has the strength of a man!_' He thought incredulously. He would've pegged her as having Herculean strength, but Sora had experienced _his _strength first hand, and no one had ever been able to compare to it. Hell, Sora still had sores from his encounters with Herc in the Coliseum - enough to last him a lifetime.

He glanced over at Riku and Wakka from the corner of his eyes, and noted that the conversation had obviously turned heated, though Riku looked more angry while their orange-haired friend appeared as if he was only mildly annoyed.

Sora stood there awkwardly for several seconds, listening to theior teacher rattle off the rules of her classroom and how positively _delighted_ she was to have him here. He didn't feel weird because of what she was saying, but because of how _honest_ her enthusiasm was. He could tell she loved her job – not in the cool way that some teachers managed to exude, but with a crazy.. Or almost obsessive love for it.

"Where do you want me to sit?" Sora asked quietly, gripping his backpack tightly. The bell had already rung, and while he could hear people talking behind him animatedly he could feel their eyes on him.

"Oh!" Mrs. Slinksi slapped her forehead, laughing loudly. "Take a seat wherever. We had a few people drop out after failing the first quarter."

Sora nodded. He turned slowly.

There were about twenty people in the class. Kairi was immediately spotted to the left, near the front by the exit. Sora's gaze migrated to the right side of the classroom where Wakka was seated in front of Riku. The carrot-head had his tunes plugged in again and was bobbing his head to whatever reggae song was playing at that moment. Riku was still looking outside of the window, resting his chin on his palm. He suddenly turned and looked at Sora as if he'd felt the brunet's gaze on him. Their eyes connected. The raw anger in his face wasn't present anymore, but there was a stoic, guarded look to his expression that made him feel put on the spot.

"Sora, come sit by me."

He moved to sit by Kairi mechanically. He felt Riku's eyes on him the entire time as he settled in a desk left of his female friend. Sora spared a glance over and felt a jolt of lightning strike him as he saw Riku glaring over at them. '_No, not at me_…' At _**Kairi**_. That knot in his gut tightened, drawing his stomach even lower than before. He hoped he was imagining this, or it was going to be a hell of a long day at school.

Luckily Sora was given a distraction as Mrs. Slinksi stepped in front of the class and cut the lights out before turning on a projector. She immediately dove into an overview of the last chapter they'd covered but Sora could hardly understand anything she was saying let alone pay attention to her. '_Why did I sign up for Physics?_' He mused miserably, fiddling with his pencils. He tapped one of them along the side of his desk, feeling doomed as she continued rattling. '_Oh, right. My councilor insisted…_'

"Hey Sora, what class do you have next?" Kairi whispered beside him. She was close enough that Sora didn't feel the teacher could hear them talk, so he felt more inclined to respond.

"Umm… The Literature of Shakespeare?" He murmured back once he'd found his schedule. Kairi looked mildly surprised, and disappointed.

Sora could feel Riku's hot gaze drilling in his back. He was sure the silverette could see them whispering to one another. '_What is wrong with him? What happened while I was gone?'_ Kairi and Riku had always gotten along fine when they were growing up. '_What had happened that's changed them so much? Riku wouldn't even __**look**__ at her._'

"I don't have that class." Kairi sighed. Sora noticed with a start that she had a full page of notes and looked back at his own blank notebook in disdain. He'd have to ask her to tutor him or _something_, or he was sure he'd be failing this class. "I think _Riku_ does, though." He heard it in her tone: the spite when she said his name, like she was mentioning something particularly disgusting and slimy, like a slug.

"What else?" She implored, smiling at him again.

"PE?" He replied questioningly.

She wrinkled her nose at him and shook her head.

"I have lunch then…"

"And?" She pressed on.

"Theatre. And finally Government." She smiled when he said the last one, and he knew he'd have that class with her as well.

"Well at least we have two classes together, right?"

Sora distantly heard someone chuckle. He could've sworn it sounded like Riku, but when he turned and looked over at him through the dimmed room, the silverette was busily staring out the window, completely disinterested in what was going on inside of the classroom.

* * *

"See you at lunch Sora." Kairi waved at him. He didn't feel that same sense of loss he had after she'd left him for first period. Wakka nodded at him after passing on to his next class, while Sora trudged in the direction that his female friend had pointed him towards for his next period. He had barely rounded the corner from his Physics classroom when Riku appeared out of nowhere beside him.

"Hey. I heard you talking with Kairi – you have Literature of Shakespeare next, right?"

The brunet stared at him suspiciously. Riku's lips were set into a very tight smile, his stance guarded. He wasn't so dimwitted as to have not noticed that the silverette hadn't approached him until Kairi had completely disappeared from view – this just furthered his idea that something had happened between his two old best friends, and he was set on figuring out what. Kairi and Riku disliking each other was almost as odd of an idea as him not liking either of them.

"Yeah I do." Sora commented, tone dry.

Riku flashed a smile at him. "Well let's go then. It's my next period too." Any anger, any oddness that Sora had noticed in the hall earlier and during second period was gone in a matter of seconds as they walked. It almost felt as good as it had during their weekend excavation in the city, but there was a fog looming over them. _'Did I just imagine him being weird?'_ No, there was no way. Riku's mood shifts were dazzling his brain, as if someone had blinded him and then twirled him around a million times and expected him to walk straight after being released. It wasn't going to happen.

"So what happened earlier?" Sora questioned carefully once they made it to their next class. He sat down beside Riku without question this time after handing his slip to the teacher. This seemed to please Riku – there was a smug smile on his face when he sat beside him, as if he'd just accomplished something.

"What do you mean?" He responded coolly, folding his arms on his desk and leaning close towards Sora. Riku's expression was curious, as if he had no clue as to what the brunet was talking about. His forwardness made Sora lean back, fighting the unbeatable heat threatening to rise to his face. _'Why does he keep doing this? First at the café and now he's doing it again!'_ Flustered, Sora rolled his eyes.

"You ignoring me in the hall? Glaring at me in second period?" Sora prodded, fixing his gaze on Riku's. It was hard staring him in the eyes, given there was so much sudden fire in them. The blankness he'd exuded – the indifference to Sora's existence – was gone, like it'd never been there to begin with. "Or was I imagining the fact that you pretty much were acting like I didn't exist. You didn't answer my phone calls this weekend either."

Sora didn't notice the few students who were nosily listening in. In particular was a loud-mouthed blonde that had suspiciously remained quiet until this point.

"What's this? You two know each other?" Tidus inquired, suddenly butting his head in between the pair. His appearance made Sora jump in surprise while Riku only rolled his eyes and leaned back into his seat. The silverette crossed his arms behind his head, regarding Tidus with a look considerably disgusted.

"No, I don't know him blondie. Not that well anyway."

"Oh, so that's why you sent me that text asking if I kn-" Tidus fell short when Riku clamped his hand over his mouth, effectively shutting him up. Sora blinked, looking between the two curiously when it clicked.

"You were texting him about me?" Sora asked, arching a brown brow. For some reason this made him grin, _hard. _He hadn't been sure if Wakka had been serious or not when he'd casually mentioned Riku texting him. He hadn't thought that he'd have been texting Tidus, too.

"Oh yeah," Tidus blurted out once he managed to skitter away from Riku, who was slowly but surely turning red. "And he texted Wakka too. That's what he said anyways." Sora's eyes swiveled over to Riku, who was shooting the blonde male with a glare that could kill.

"You just seemed familiar to me and I wanted to know if any of them might've known you." Riku spoke through gritted teeth. Sora started to laugh loudly at his expense, which in turn ignited Tidus's own. After a few seconds the silver-haired teen started to smile, though it looked as if he was trying hard not to, but eventually he conceded and started to chuckle and then finally laugh as well. "Whatever. Just, whatever. Watch your step Tidus because I swear I'm going to poison your food or something soon, and you're going to die a horrible, long death." The victim in the situation just pouted, rolling his eyes.

"Everyone take your seats and let's get started!" The teacher declared.

"So, everything's fine?" Sora asked Riku, sitting back in his seat while observing the silverette from the corners of his eyes.

"Yeah. I didn't have a good night. Sorry if it seemed like I was ignoring you." There was something to his tone that made Sora feel as if something wasn't quite right still, or that he wasn't telling the truth completely, but he didn't press it. As long as Riku didn't revert to his odd behavior from earlier, he wouldn't bring it up again.

* * *

PE was uneventful. He had the class with Tidus, the only familiar face he could spot. Sora excelled at the workouts, just as he'd expected and anticipated with great pleasure. He ran two miles right beside the blonde, who looked amazed that anyone could manage to keep up with home let alone possibly surpass him. The rest of the class was over a quarter of a mile behind them, and to say Sora wasn't enjoying his prowess would've been a lie. He'd never really been good at sports or anything related to fitness – sure, he and his friends as kids would play and race on their island all day when they were younger, but he'd never been in real shape, like now.

"Y-you should try out f-for the Blitzball team!" Tidus managed to sputter between heavy breaths.

Sora just grinned at him.

Following PE was lunch finally. Sora followed the blonde teen into the Cafeteria, chattering away about one thing or the next (apparently Tidus had a new love interest, and also apparently felt comfortable enough with the "new kid" to talk about it). The pair had just finished grabbing their food from the stands when Sora migrated towards the table where Wakka was seated, Tidus following close behind. Seconds later Riku appeared, knocking Tidus alongside the head before taking a seat beside Sora on the bench.

"Ow!" The blonde tsked loudly, glaring at their newly-arrived friend. "What was that for?"

"For dumping your last lunch on my shirt, you ass." Riku smirked.

Tidus stuck his tongue out at him, rubbing the side of his head where he'd been smacked. "Hah! You deserved it, pervert."

"I'm not the pervert here. Sora was the one who called me like five times on Sunday."

The table went quiet as Wakka arched brows at him and Tidus stared at Sora in dismay, as if he'd just seen something gruesome occur before his eyes. _Like a murder._

"Sora, I don't think you've heard yet, but Riku's a total manwhore." This was stated as casually as if they were discussing the weather. "If you're bi or gay that's totally cool," Tidus waved his hands emphatically. "But believe me you can do better than this guy." He jabbed his thumb in the silver-haired male's direction. Riku absentmindedly began to mentally picture what Tidus would look like if he smashed his face into the tray of gravy and potatoes on his plate.

'_And he wonders why he's getting fat_,' he thought indignantly, sighing.

Sora was beat red. "I don't like him like that. I just don't know anyone and I met him Friday when Ms. Hikari introduced us." While he dealt with Tidus's playful taunting, Riku's attention diverted elsewhere, namely the front of the cafeteria where Kairi and Selphie had just walked in and were talking animatedly amongst one another. Selphie pointed over to their table – at Sora presumably – and Kairi looked. Her's and Riku's eyes met, and a glacier couldn't have been colder than the emotions that passed between their linked gazes.

_'That's right_,' Riku thought darkly, watching them. _'Just walk the other way Kairi. Sora's staying here with me_.' The thought should've worried him, made him feel weird, but he felt nothing of the sort. Kairi and Selphie at first started heading towards their own table away from theirs before the auburn-haired female abruptly turned and strode over towards them. Her eyes were fixed pointedly on Sora, who was having a heated discussion with Tidus, who was laughing at him, pointing out how red his face was.

"Do you mind if we sit here with you guys?" Kairi's voice broke the silence. Wakka and Tidus all looked up at the two girls, surprised – Tidus's mouth was hanging open, declaring to the world that he was shocked. Wakka's earphone fell out of his ear. Riku was spewing fire. He looked at Sora, who at first looked surprised and then _happy_.

'_Why would he be happy to see that cunt?'_ Riku thought, fingers fisting along his pants.

"Sure! Why not! Move over Tidus." The blonde complied to Sora's order, and Kairi easily slipped in to sit along Sora's right side while Riku was seated against his left. Selphie skipped around until she was seated beside Wakka, directly across from them.

This was all wrong.

_All wrong._

Riku stared incredulously at the layout of their table. Wakka and Tidus didn't seem to mind the new additions to their table at all, and neither did Sora. '_Sora…_' The silverette looked at him, watched him smile as he talked with Kairi, Selphie, Tidus and Wakka as if they'd all been friends their entire lives. If anything, for that brief moment earlier when Kairi had just asked if she could sit with them, it was more like _she_ was the new student intruding on their space, not Sora. Sora fit in with them like he was just one of many cherries fitted into a pie, and Riku had half a mind to open his mouth and tell Kairi that he did mind her being with them. That she wasn't welcome.

That he hated her.

But every time he was about to open his mouth and make a nasty retort to something she said he fell short for one simple reason: Sora looked happy.

Riku knew he'd been acting like an ass earlier by ignoring Sora and glaring at him and Kairi like a petty, jealous child, but he hadn't been able to help it. He didn't feel his clingy addiction and need to be around the brunet was right after only knowing him a few _days_, but after watching him and Kairi get cozy and friendly in second period something inside of him had snapped. '_I can win Sora over faster than she can'_, he'd thought.

Instead, she'd _joined_ them. He'd never anticipated – not once – that she would've done something like this. Kairi was friendly, but she was also demure and shy. It wasn't in her personality to outright challenge someone like him. People didn't just _do _that with Riku.

'_She lied to me._' The realization was stunning. '_She had to have felt something strong for him too when I sent her that text. When she saw him today._'

He wasn't going crazy.

He _wasn't_.

* * *

After a brief introduction to the class in Theatre and reading the new script that was being practiced for their December play (Sora discovered he had this class with Selphie and Riku), he moved on to his last period of the day: Government. Kairi was the only familiar face in that class, so he naturally stuck close to her and chatted until the bell signaled the end of the day.

Sora was in high spirits after she helped him open his locker and instructed him on how to do it. He shoved his folders and the new books he'd checked out inside after securing what he had for homework inside of his backpack. "Do you live near here?"

"Oh, I'm getting a ride from Ms. Hikari. We live on umm…"

'_Crap, I forgot._' Sora sweat dropped, scratching the back of his head. "I forgot what street. Could I give you my phone number though, in case I need help with homework?"

"Sure." Kairi nodded at him. "You're really fun to be around Sora. I'm glad I got to meet you."

"Me too Kairi." Sora grinned at her before swinging his backpack over his shoulder. After exchanging numbers, the brunet started towards the exit. "See you tomorrow?" She nodded at him as he pushed outside the double doors, heading towards his mother's parked car. She was waving at him from her seat, giving him a smile that he matched plus some. He felt good after the brief oddity of moods Riku had displayed. Lunch had eventually dulled the awkwardness, and by the end of it even Riku had started joining in on conversation after glaring daggers at Kairi for awhile. He still wasn't sure what was going on between the pair, but he figured he'd find out soon enough.

"How was school Sora?" Sonya asked once he got in. He just grinned at her.

"It went a lot better than I expected." was Sora's reply.

* * *

"Principal Highwind!" Riku called out to the man loudly to make sure he got his attention. Principal Highwind was a tall figure, and fat, too. He wasn't intimidating in the least unless you were in front of him walking down the stairs. The man turned at the call of his name, looking at the silver-haired minx approaching him with a small smile. Riku wasn't just popular with students – he was a known "sweetheart" of the women in the office, including the principal's wife.

"Oh, Riku. What can I do for you?" His voice was oddly high pitched for a man. It'd always reminded Riku of the Pillsbury's doughboy.

"I met the new student today, Sora," Riku started casually, falling into pace beside him.

"Oh, yes. Sora Hikari. Would you do me a favor and show him around if he needs it?"

'_Well, that was easy_.' Riku feigned innocence, drawing his brows together in confusion. "But I thought you'd asked Kairi to show him around? She was giving him a tour earlier this morning."

Principal Highwind's face contorted into one of confusion himself. He paused in opening the door to his private office. "No, I don't believe I did. But if she already showed him around I guess that'd be one less thing for either of us to worry about, eh? Now, if you don't mind, I have some important business to attend to Riku. Have a good afternoon."

"You too Principal Highwind," Riku spoke to the man's back as the door was shut. An odd smile was growing on the male's face as he shoved his hands in his pockets and casually strolled outside into the cool hair.

* * *

_**End Chapter 4**_

* * *

**A/N:** Well. That was really long. I was actually planning on making it longer, but I felt that the chapter was pushing what most people like to sit through as it is. Anyways I hope you all enjoyed it.

Look forward to another update in a few days. Riku will level out eventually, but he's going through some interesting turmoil when it comes to Sora that he doesn't really understand. I don't want him to seem too asshole-ish, but things will be explained and explored with time!

So excited about writing this story. Give me more reviews! Do it. As a forewarning, I might possibly be doing a timeskip, but it won't happen for a few more chapters.

* * *

_**Thanks to those who reviewed:**_

_Doomchocobo:_ Yep. I just reposted it... Originally I was going to just let this story disappear, and I hate it so much when authors leave stories up that have obvious plots and leave it hanging so I took it down. I don't plan on leaving it this time. It will be finished totally.

_DanceinLightening_: Thank you so much for your kind review! I really appreciate it. :) And I've been wondering myself why my story hasn't gotten too many reviews, but I just posted it. Most people also don't tend to like having to actually read a story before it hits smut/romance, sadly.

_TigerRaiken:_ Raiken you've given me the longest review so far, and also the most random. Go Gamestop! And.. keep reading the story and cosplaying! I checked out your deviantart. You're pretty smexy.

_Guest:_ The chapter was out soonish. Two days is soon right? Heh.

_Nami1415:_ Thanks for the review doll. Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing it.

* * *

R&R

Devilbiter


	6. Ch 5: Teenage Drama

**Disclaimer:** I do not, in any way, shape or form, own Kingdom Hearts or the Disney movies associated with it. This fanfic is purely made for the enjoyment of random people who like reading made-up stories. :D

"Speaking."

'_Thoughts_.'

_Flashback/Dream_.

Enjoy,

Devilbiter.

* * *

**Chapter 5: Teenage Drama**

Oh the woes of young love, how painful they are!

* * *

_Electromagnetism is the interaction responsible for practically all the phenomena encountered in daily life, with the exception of gravity. Ordinary matter takes its form as a result of intermolecular forces between individual molecules in matter. Electrons are bound by electromagnetic wave mechanics into orbitals around atomic nuclei to form atoms, which are the building blocks of molecules. This governs the processes involved in chemistry, which arise from interactions between the electrons of neighboring atoms, which are in turn determined by the interaction between electromagnetic force and the momentum of the electrons._

Sora stared hard at the introduction paragraph to Chapter 4 of his physics book, _**Classic & Modern Physics**_.

The brunet reached over and tore a piece of his notebook paper before wedging it in the crease of the page he was on, and then proceeded to flip to the end of the book, looking up first _electrons_, then _atomic nuclei_, _molecules_, and finally _atoms_. With each new definition (which he had the decency to scribble down their meanings for later use), Sora could feel the shallow pool of hope he still had for himself drain down to absolutely nothing. He almost felt like a kid standing in an empty pool, and was just realizing how _useless_ and _stupid_ it was being there. He couldn't swim if there was no water.

'_I can't do this class. I have no idea what any of this is_.' Sora absentmindedly brought his pencil up, tapping it on his chin while he went back to the page he'd marked. Once more he ran his eyes over the introduction paragraph, and immediately underwent the "wilting flower" effect: he started sagging forward in his seat at the dinner table, groaning. This was killing him, he was sure of it – frying his brain cells just by simply _trying_ to comprehend what the hell this was all about. Each sentence was sucking him dry of what little confidence and understanding he'd started with.

'_I'm so screwed_.'

Not for the first time that night, his eyes desperately sought out the cell phone his mother had given him just that night, wondering if he should do it.

It was Thursday night. He'd been in school for four whole days – four days of dealing with the elephant in the room between Kairi and Riku, four days of having to get up at six-thirty in the morning and being given a ride to school by Sonya and having to endure classes he felt sick of simply by attending. It wasn't as if he didn't _like_ most his teachers or the subjects in general (except his first period, study hall, but at least he had Wakka to entertain himself with), but rather the fact that he honestly had no clue what was going on.

Physics was by far the worse, but his third period, Studies of Shakespeare, was just as mind-boggling. He could read the words, but processing and describing in short paragraphs what the heck the madman-of-an-author had meant was nearly impossible. They were currently working on _A Midsummer Night's Dream_, and as far as Sora was concerned it was about a rather silly romance pertaining to fairies with mental issues and humans that had no real wits about themselves over anything. He was probably wrong, but that was the idea he was getting from it. The teacher of the class was by far the worst of all of the ones he had, including first period's Mr. Burns – her name was Mrs. Clarisse, and she was as uptight and snoody as her name suggested – and after asking Sora to read aloud for an entire page today and hearing him fumble over just about every other word, he'd been the laughing stock of the class.

Just t_hinking_ about it made his face beat red.

Groaning, the brunet's head dropped, forehead thudding against the page he'd been reading.

'_I should just call Kairi or Riku and ask for help_.' At this rate there was no way he'd manage to pass any of his classes. Sora would've been amazed if he'd gotten a D in any of his classes (not that he was aiming for "just" passing them). He was positive that if he did fail anything however, the blonde counselor at the front desk would think he was having issues, and if he had to talk to another therapist about anything he'd _give _them a reason to be worried about something.

Sora tried one last time. '_Just one more try.. and if I don't get it I'll call._'

Filled with a brief burst of determination that came from nowhere, he leaned up and flipped to the next page. Maybe he'd have better luck further in the chapter.

_Electromagnetism manifests as both electric fields and magnetic fields. Both fields are simply different aspects of electromagnetism, and hence are intrinsically related. Thus, a changing electric field generates a magnetic field; conversely a changing magnetic field generates an electric field. This effect is called electromagnetic induction, and is the basis of operation for electrical generators, induction motors, and transformers. Mathematically speaking, magnetic fields and electric fields are convertible with relative motion as a 2nd-order tensor or bivector._

Sora reached for his cell phone and flipped it open. He hesitated over first Kairi's name and then Riku's, before deciding to call the latter. It wasn't that he preferred one over the other, but rather that his silver-haired friend lived in the next house over. It was more convenient. Plus, he wasn't really sure where Kairi lived, and he didn't think her parents would take kindly to some random boy showing up at 8:30 at night claiming he needed help with homework. Like _that _would fly.

Sora drummed his fingers against the table, phone pressed between his ear and shoulder while it rang. He was surprised after the second ring that it was answered.

"Hello?" Riku's voice was breathless.

"Hey… did I call at a bad time or something? You sound…_ Yeah_." Sora bit his bottom lip.

The silverette was quiet for a moment, during which the brunet could only hear his mildly-labored breathing.

"You there?"

"Oh yeah," Riku said, laughing nervously. "Sorry, I was um… Working out." There was another tender pause of silence, at which Sora couldn't help but get the impression that he hadn't _really_ been working out in the sense he'd just suggested. '_I don't think I want to know what he was doing_.' Just the thought of that made the brunet oddly hot and uncomfortable all at once. '_I should've just called Kairi_…'

"Anyways," Riku cleared his throat, breath returned to normal. "Something you need or? What's up?" Riku always sounded cool and collected. Confident.

Sora was almost positive _he _wasn't having trouble with his Physics homework, he thought bitterly, stabbing his pencil angrily at his book, where **atoms** and **molecules** were flashing at him boldly. '_Stupid science_.'

"I need help with homework." He said simply, nibbling on his bottom lip some more. The worksheet he'd been given was halfway filled out – mostly because half of the questions had simply asked for the definition of words, which was easy enough to find at the back of the book. The rest of it though? – it asked him for his opinion of the theories pertaining to the chapter, to suggest what might support them or go against it. Sora knew he had the option of bullshitting his answers, but he didn't want to turn it in and find out that this was that **one** class where his teacher actually read the answers students wrote.

"Oh." said Riku, sounding rather disappointed.

'_What had he expected me to be calling him for this late?_' Sora wondered.

"What's that tone for?" He asked lightly, arching a brow even though his friend couldn't see it.

"Nothing." Was the silverette's crisp reply. "What class are you having issues with?"

"Um," Sora started. "Physics." He heard Riku suck in a breath after he answered, and knew with impending doom that he'd been wrong. Apparently Riku didn't know everything. Sora relished in that moment, lips twitching up into a smile. '_He isn't totally perfect, after all._' That was a relief. It'd have gotten old after awhile to know that while he'd been away his silver-haired friend had not just become more handsome, but also vastly more intelligent than him.

"I was kind of having trouble on that myself to be honest." Riku said absentmindedly, hmm-ing. "We'll have to get help tomorrow at school." Sora heard music flicker on, playing in the background of the phone faintly; he couldn't help but wonder what it was that he was listening to. "Did you finish your Shakespeare summaries yet?"

"Eh, not yet." Sora shut his Physics book before slumping back into his seat. "To be honest I don't think I'm really grasping it yet." '_Especially not after today's humiliation_,' he thought grimly.

"I think just about everyone got that during class today Sora." Riku teased, laughing when he heard the brunet sputter over the other end. It was more than obvious that Sora was probably beat-red at that moment. "To be honest I think Mrs. Clarisse was getting wet over how miserable you were. There was pure bitchy happiness emanating from her. She likes picking on people – you should expect to be called on again - maybe even tomorrow."

"_Great_." Sora groaned, raking his hands through his hair. He felt defeated. "And thanks for the mental image. I really don't like to think that I make some stupid teacher get off."

"We-w-well…" Riku stuttered over his words, trying to mimic Sora's performance from their class while exaggerating it just a _teeny_ bit. "Y-y-you d-did s-sound s-s-so c-cu-"

"Yeah whatever, I get the point," Sora cut in, cheeks burning. God, why did he have to keep making him feel worse over it! Wasn't it bad enough that he'd had to endure it all period? Sometimes, Sora couldn't help but think that Riku was the one who'd enjoyed his painful torture more than their teacher had. "Did you finish your summaries?" He asked hotly, trying to change the subject. While he didn't mind Riku picking on him, the feeling lasted only a short while before it got annoying.

"Yep," Riku said cockily after he'd stopped laughing. "Want some help?"

Sora's eyes swiveled to the clock. It was almost nine. _At night_.

"It's pretty late…"

"I don't care." He could practically hear Riku rolling his eyes. "And it's not that late. Two in the morning is late, Sora."

"Yeah, maybe to you it is."

"So are you coming over?" Riku implored. Sora heard a scuffle, and he pictured the silver-haired minx rolling over onto his stomach. '_Thought you were working out?_'

"Let me ask Ms. Hikari."

"She won't care when she hears you're coming over here Sora. Come on." Riku almost sounded frustrated.

"Just let me ask her, jeez. Hold on a sec."

Idly, he wondered if she'd even let him leave to go to a friend's house, especially when it was a school night. His mother had never let him do so before – but then again he _had _only been twelve at the time. Sure that she'd tell him no, Sora got up and headed into the living room, rubbing his arm.

"Hey… Ms. Hikari… I _know_ it's late and all but..."

* * *

"Told you."

_Whatever._

Sora didn't dignify Riku with a response, simply because the male was already practically drenched in smugness. If he responded now he knew he'd sound annoyed, which would only entitle his friend to more self-satisfaction over the situation. _Damn Riku_.

The pair of them were sitting on the silverette's bed. Riku was sprawled out on his back, fiddling with his phone, occasionally sparing him or their homework packet a glance whenever he voiced a question. Sora was perched on the side of the bed, using a highlighter to mark the "important details" of _A Midsummer Night's Dream_ playscript. He'd only been there a half hour but he already felt more confident in what was going on – he had made the right decision to call, if only to help him understand what was going on with Puck a bit better. '_Really, this guy deserves whatever's coming to him_,' Sora thought, feeling remotely amused at the antics that the male was pulling now that he could read a few lines without having his brain cells blasted.

Puck's raunchy behavior reminded him of Peter Pan a little – not that Peter was _quite_ as obnoxious as this male was, but it was endearing and more than a little funny to picture the lost boy doing such things. '_He totally would,_' Sora snickered, unaware as to the fact that Riku was watching him intently. '_If Wendy wouldn't get so mad at him_.'

A particular scene that he was reading made him chuckle louder, and he almost jumped when he saw a shadow lean over him. Sora's heart hammered in his chest when Riku's chin rested against his shoulder; the brunet glanced at him from the corners of his eyes, not sure what to make of the situation. Riku's eyes were fixed on the last few lines he'd highlighted of the play. Moments later, his brows drew together, as if he wasn't really sure what Sora had found so humorous.

"What's so funny?" He finally asked, glancing at Sora with his aqua-colored eyes. There was a small smile teasing the corners of his friend's lips. Sora stared at his mouth, an odd tingle drawing over his body at their closeness while butterflies erupted in his stomach.

'_What is wrong with me?_' He thought, somewhat appalled at how much attention he was paying to Riku's playful behavior. Or rather, his **mouth** of all things. Sora could _feel _how warm he was with his friend's chest practically pressed into his back. Could _smell _the haughty scent of Axe spray clinging to him. '_Is he doing this on purpose?_' The smell was beginning to make him dizzy, so he leaned away from Riku. '_Does he realize what he's doing? He has to.'_ Riku didn't just do things without there being a reason for it. Sora had known him all of his life – well, all but the last four years – and his friend rarely did things just because he felt random.

The silverette cast him a disappointed look when he pulled away from him. Riku slumped back to his former position lying on the bed, snapping his phone shut so he could pay better attention to the brunet. His eyes remained on Sora, which eventually made said-male look away, nervous for some reason under his heavy stare.

"Just Puck." Sora said quickly before things got too quiet or awkward. "He reminds me of someone I know." Sora spoke again after he'd managed to steady his nerves. Every time Riku got close to him his body seemed to almost shut down, as if it didn't know what to do with itself. '_He must be giving off radiation or something.'_ The brunet's lips twitched upwards at the thought.

"Who?" Riku asked a heartbeat after he'd fallen quiet.

For a moment Sora panicked, not having anticipated the male to actually be curious enough to ask more questions. '_Of course he would be – he doesn't know you, idiot!_' A collection of perspiration was beginning to form on his brow.

"This guy I knew back at my old school. His name is Peter. He and I were good friends." Sora appropriately quieted his tone towards the end, hoping very much that Riku got the impression he didn't want to talk about it, even though the reason he didn't want to was vastly different than any normal person would assume.

"Were?" Riku questioned.

Sora let loose a nervous chuckle, reaching up to scratch the back of his head. "Well I really don't talk to him anymore. We hung out at school, not much elsewhere." He spoke quickly, trying to appear as if he was distracted by the script in his lap. "And we haven't talked since the fire and all so…"

"Oh." His friend's tone was awkward. Sora's spirits lifted, relieved that Riku had gotten the impression he'd hoped to be sending towards him.

"Where was it that you lived exactly?" Sora groaned internally when his friend asked this. "You never really talk about it, and I didn't even think to ask Ms. Hikari when you got here."

Or not. Apparently Riku didn't get the _"Hey, I don't want to talk about this"_ feeling Sora had practically been _throwing _at his face.

_I'll put a girdle round about the earth__  
__In forty minutes!_

He highlighted this, even though it really wasn't all that important. Sora held up his finger in a _wait one sec_ gesture, pretending to finish reading the series of Puck's lines before answering. He used that time to try and think of a suitable response. '_What did Reggie say? Where did I live before this?_' For a moment Sora panicked. He hadn't read over the papers containing his "other life" when the redhead had tossed them to him. He'd been too mad, too sore over his situation to even want to take a peek at them. Sora felt like such an idiot now. '_What should I say?_'

"Traverse Town." He blurted out a moment later. Riku arched a brow at his tone, not sure how to take it. Sora's cheeks were heated, eyes glued to the script in his lap.

"Never heard of it." came the expected response.

"It's actually a pretty small town," Sora continued, nodding as if to affirm his lies - make them more _real_. "About a hundred miles from here." The split second after he said this he knew he'd gone too far.

"A hundred miles where?" Riku's tone was incredulous. His silver eyebrows had shot up, disappearing between his bright bangs. "Under the sea?"

"No, on another island Riku. God, are you stupid?" Sora snapped at him, immediately regretting it afterwards. He chanced looking back at his friend and saw the male leaning up on his elbows, staring at him with a darkening expression. Aqua eyes were narrowed dangerously, probably pissed at his insult. Riku's smile had been crisped into a flat line of anger.

"I was just asking a question. What the fuck is your problem?" His friend demanded. Sora flinched away at his tone; he missed Riku's strangled expression at his retreat, missed his hand reaching out to him, obviously regretting using that tone. "Sorry." Riku dropped his hand, tearing his eyes away from Sora. "I should have realized you wouldn't want to talk about all of that yet. I just don't know much about you and figured I'd ask." Although his words were apologetic, Sora didn't dare look back at him or say anything for a few moments.

He couldn't help but feel as if he'd _really_ just messed up.

"I like you a lot Sora." '_Too much, even,_' Riku thought to himself, feeling guilty for having pressed the male when it'd been obvious he hadn't wanted to talk. He just felt desperate – desperate to know him more, to quench just a fraction of the desire he felt to be near him. '_I want to do things to him that would probably make him never want to talk to me again._' And while he was going through this, how was **Sora **feeling? Riku didn't know, but he could tell from the way the other froze when he got just a _little_ bit too close – just inched over that careful line of Friendship – that the brunet probably didn't quite _like_ him that way. It frustrated him. And now, his first attempt at just getting to know him more had blown up in his face.

"I like you too Riku." Sora said after a moment, voice subdued. "You've been a great friend so far. Thanks for putting up with my weirdness."

Riku wasn't sure how it was possible that one person could make him feel both so wonderful and so awful at once, but Sora did. He didn't even have to _try_. It should've been a crime at how good he was at this.

"You should probably go home. It's past ten," the silverette muttered. The air was so thick he was sure he could cut it with a knife.

Sora just nodded dumbly, standing up. Silently he packed his things and left, Riku following only out of custom to make sure he didn't get lost in his mother's enormous house. He stood in the entrance of his home and watched the brunet's head bob around his gated yard and disappear before heading back inside, feeling as if he'd just had a major setback in regards to their… _Friendship_.

* * *

Sonya was asleep when he got back in minutes after leaving Riku's. She was asleep on their comforter, head tilted back and resting in the crook of one of the armrests. The teen walked in as quietly as he could, setting his backpack first on the dinner table before he headed back into the living room. Sora grabbed an afghan that was slung over the loveseat nearby as well as a pillow before carefully placing the blanket on his mother while she slept. After that, he gently lifted her head up slowly so as not to wake her before slipping the pillow under it.

Sonya mumbled a few things while he did this, but thankfully didn't wake up.

Exhausted himself, Sora headed upstairs to his small bedroom and went inside, shutting the door quietly behind him. He didn't bother undressing or changing clothes, and instead just fell face-first onto his bed, breathing in shakily.

Riku.

That one word summed up why he felt like this. So overwhelmed, so frustrated. _So worried and anxious._

Sora rolled over onto his back, hands resting on his stomach while he stared out the window. It was dark out, clouds rolling in – there was a certain pulse of electricity to the air, suggesting it'd probably storm. It reminded him of the night his life changed: it'd been storming, and he'd been fearful that the raft Kairi, Riku and him had worked so hard on preparing for their adventure would've gotten loose. He'd done what any sensible twelve year old had done: run outside, waded out to their island where said raft was just resting along the shoreline, and tried to save it from being washed away.

"_This world has been connected. Tied to the darkness..."_

Sora watched the waves lap up along the beach. The once-calm motion was beginning to become furious, as if the waves were antsy at the approaching storm about to break loose.

"_There is so very much to learn."_

His eyes shut tightly just as a crack of thunder whipped through the sky.

"_You understand so little."_

_Xehanort. Xemnas. Ansem_.

Their faces flashed through his mind, each one making his breath catch, as if he wasn't just imagining them but they were actually there with him. Sora's keyblade materialized against his stomach where his right hand lay. It was pulsing, as if it contained some of the lightning that was ricocheting in the clouds outside. _Living. Breathing_. Sora let it rest against his chest and slid his hand along the smooth, silver shaft, before dragging his fingers back up to the hilt. The Lionheart keychain looped around it made him _remember_. Sora realized with a start that he hadn't really thought about anything beyond school and trying to be normal over the last few days – nothing about his other life. _The part of him that he was trying so hard to cover; to forget about_. Touching the chain made him shiver, bringing back more memories.

Leon. The older brunet's calm, usually stoic face came to mind. Sora had always admired his self-control – the confidence he'd exuded during their battle at the Coliseum had intimidated him. Leon's powerful build always made Sora jealous, who even at his current state was of average build at best. Sure, he had muscle, but he was lithely built, like a willow tree. '_And then there was Cloud, too…_' Cloud, whose good looks rivaled Riku's own. His sky blue eyes and the quiet, determined set of his expression was something Sora had never been able to master.

He'd always felt that those two were the types that most people expected to see when they thought of a Keyblade Master, not someone like… '_Like me_,' Sora thought, almost resentful. '_Why didn't it choose them and just let me live a normal teenage life here?_' He wouldn't have any of the problems that he did now – like school, which was harder in his opinion than having to fight off a hundred heartless. Sora cracked an eye open, staring down at the keyblade lying along his chest like a pet. It almost seemed _happy_ to have been summoned, seeing as how Sora hadn't called for its presence in over a week's time. '_Yeah, I'm officially tired, or losing it - thinking my keyblade is happy to see me._'

Still, the ludicrous thought persisted as Sora drifted off to sleep, lulled into the darkness by the sound of thunder booming and the soft thrum of energy pulsing against him from his keyblade. Sora dreamt all night, though for once his dreams weren't cluttered by people he didn't know.

* * *

"_So, suppose you get to another world. What would you do there?" Kairi asked curiously, kicking her legs back and forth over the edge of the tree they were currently sitting atop. Sora wasn't too sure if she was directing this question to him or not, so he looked over at Riku inquiringly. Their silver-haired friend was leaning back against the Paopu tree he and Kairi were sitting on, arms crossed behind his head._

_There was that determined gleam in Riku's eyes. Sora recognized it immediately, and he already knew what was going through his mind at that moment: he didn't really care what they did __**once**__ they got to another world, as long as they actually managed to __**get**__ there. He knew that Riku was more obsessed with the __**idea**__ that there was something out there and proving there __**was**__ something beyond their small world. He didn't care so much about what might be there once they accomplished his dream. Even if they made it to some other world that was ravaged with demons or other evil beings, Riku would be happy just proving to everyone his childish fantasies and dreams __**weren't**__ wrong. _

_Sora, of course, knew he was crazy and that Destiny Islands was all there was, but he didn't dare say that. Sometimes, it was nice allowing himself to be dazzled by the vision that Riku saw for them._

_"Well, I haven't really thought about it." Riku finally replied. Sora felt smug and all-knowing that the silverette had just confirmed his suspicions. "It's just... I've always wondered why we're here on this island. If there are any other worlds out there, why did we end up on this one?" Again he paused – dramatizing the moment – and looked over at Kairi and Sora. Their female friend was leaning forward to look at Riku, seeing as how Sora was between them. "And suppose there are other worlds..." She pursed her lips, thoughtful. "Then ours is just a little piece of something much greater. So we could have just as easily ended up somewhere else, right? "_

_Sora felt Riku's eyes on him before he spotted him staring. The sun was making his pretty, silver hair glitter in the sunlight, and for the briefest of moments Sora couldn't help but stare at him wondrously. __**Riku**__ looked as if he could be from another world, based on his ethereal looks alone. 'Like a mermaid… Or an angel,' Sora thought, though he couldn't help but take back that last part._

_Riku was anything but an angel, despite what his mom falsely believed._

"_I don't know." Sora responded finally, smiling and shaking his head.  
_

"_Exactly." Riku smiled back at him, seemingly pleased with the brunet's response. The silver-haired minx's gaze remained fixed on Sora as he spoke; he never noticed how he looked at Sora, ever-seeking his approval. Desperate to have him believe in him."That's why we need to go out there and find out. Just sitting here won't change a thing. It's the same old stuff."_

_Sora turned his head in time just to catch Riku's departing glance away from him. Something in his eyes… had been different, in that split second. It made his stomach flutter with anticipation._

"_So let's go."_

_Silence fell between the three as they watched the sun die over the horizon._

_It was the last time Sora spoke with them, let alone saw such a breathtaking sunset over the ocean. If only he'd known what lay ahead of him that night…_

* * *

"Hey um…" Sora nibbled on his cheek, staring at Wakka. "Wakka." The carrot-top didn't hear him apparently, because he kept his head tilted back, eyes shut with his earphones plugged into either ear. Apparently the one time Sora _wished_ Wakka wasn't zoning out to reggae didn't settle well with the gods, because the male was clearly out of it. '_Hades… I hate you sometimes_.' Somehow, even though he knew that the dark god probably actually had nothing to do with his current situation (though he had his suspicions!) Sora felt a little bit put out.

He pouted; sparing a sly glance back in front of him to make sure Mr. Burns wasn't paying attention, Sora turned around and threw his pencil at Wakka's forehead.

It missed of course, and instead struck him in the throat. _Correction_: his adam's apple. Sora sweat dropped, watching Wakka sit upright as if someone had cracked a whip along his back. His eyes were open now, and he was coughing loudly, rubbing his throat. Sora just smiled sheepishly when the blitzball player's eyes fixed on his.

"Sorry, just.. Um…" The brunet nervously scratched the back of his head, checking again to make sure their Study Hall teacher wasn't looking before turning back to face Wakka. He was being given a dead glare. It was the first negative emotion the normally-relaxed carrot top had ever given him, and it just made Sora shrink under his gaze.

Apparently throwing pencils at Wakka was one way to actually make him mad.

"Do you have the Physics homework?" Sora asked finally, voice meek.

Wakka crossed his arms over his chest, looking unimpressed. "The packet you had all week to do, ya?" He countered calmly, eyeing the brunet.

Sora felt a sweat drop drag down the side of his face. He laughed quietly, nervously.

"I couldn't figure it out!" He whispered. "I even went to Riku's last night –" Wakka arched a brow at him. The look he gave almost made Sora feel like he should be embarrassed or something… "-but he couldn't help me. I just don't get it. Please Wakka!" Sora dropped a tone, deciding that being meek and "cute" wasn't going to work. He pleaded with both his eyes and his voice. "Just this once?"

"Mr. Hikari, are you wanting another detention slip?" Mr. Burn's voice made Sora jump and turn around. He stared at the elderly man, who was glaring at him grumpily. Not many people disliked the brunet, but he couldn't help but feel as if he'd found that _one_ person.

"No sir."

"Then I'd kindly suggest you return to reading, or doing your homework, and not talking with Mr. Esuna."

Sora just nodded at him and then slumped over his Physics book, which was open to the page he'd marked last night. His half-done packet was glaring up at him accusingly, making him groan aloud_. 'First not getting my homework done... And then I forgot all about detention!'_ Sora wondered what happened when kids didn't show up for detention. '_Probably get more detention_,' he thought, feeling miserable.

"Oi." Wakka muttered. Sora didn't dare turn to face him again, seeing as how Mr. Burns kept peeking up from the novel he was engrossed in to look at him. His friend tossed his completed Physics packet onto his desk.

Sora breathed a sigh of relief, and set about guiltily copying his answers.

"Thanks, Wakka." He whispered quietly.

"No problem, ya. Just don't throw anymore pencils at me. That hurt."

"**Mr. Esuna**!"

Wakka chuckled weakly. "Sorry, ya."

* * *

Sora caught up with Kairi in the hallway as she was headed to Physics. He was holding his bulky science book under one arm while his backpack was slung over the opposite's shoulder. The brunet was in a good mood once again, all thanks to Wakka, who had been the unfortunate victim of one of Tidus's surprise attacks. Despite the fact that the blitzball player had saved him from making a bad impression on his first assignment, Sora had only given him a piteous glance when Tidus had attacked and ran ahead to avoid being dragged into the commotion.

"Did you finish that worksheet?" Sora blinked, realizing that Kairi was asking him a question.

"Oh yeah. It was way different than what I was used to in my old school. Took me awhile." He decided not to tell her that Wakka had been a "big help"; he knew Kairi wouldn't approve of cheating, even if it was just on homework. The girl had been a goody two-shoes from day one of knowing her, and Sora knew that if there was one thing he could guarantee was the same with his female friend, it would be her sense of honesty and hard work.

"I thought it was pretty easy," Kairi commented, smiling at him.

Sora gawked at her in amazement, feeling rather stupid compared to her smarts. "Maybe you can give me some tutoring then, because for some reason this week's homework just kind of blew my mind."

Conversation flowed pleasantly – Kairi talking animatedly about the upcoming homecoming blitzball game that was happening in a few weeks (apparently she was part of the student planning committee) – until a familiar face approached out of nowhere.

Riku was dressed in black pants that hugged his long legs firmly, as well as a navy-blue polo. It was Casual Friday, the one day of the week that students were permitted to wear whatever they wanted. Sora himself was wearing a pair of tan khaki shorts and a plain white button-up. Kairi was dressed in simple blue jeans and a violet halter top. He couldn't help but feel as if his silver-haired friend was purposely exaggerating his good looks, seeing as how he noticed even Kairi pause midstep once she'd caught sight of Riku approaching.

Or maybe, like so many students around them, they were looking at the _**girl**_ hanging off of Riku's arm, and not Riku himself.

Sora hadn't noticed her at first, but once he did he stopped walking altogether, as if he'd just ran into a brick wall.

_Selphie?_

Sora stared in disbelief. She was hugging his arm, her entire body practically pressed into him as they walked towards them. '_What… What the hell?_' He'd seen a lot of mystifying things in his life, but…

_**This?**_

_Selphie?_

_Riku?_

Selphie _**AND**_ Riku?

Sora almost didn't dare look to see Kairi's expression. He'd thought it was odd that he hadn't seen the bubbly brunette with the auburn-haired female all morning but…_'This has to be some sort of joke,_' Sora thought, easily deciphering the shock and utter dismay written all over Kairi's face. If Kairi didn't know what – or who – her best friend was dating, then…

Riku ignored them both pointedly even though he looked right at him and Kairi before stopping in front of their Physics class. Both him and Kairi, as well as just about everyone else in the hallway, stared with a variety of emotions as Riku planted a kiss on Selphie's cheek (she squealed, blushing), before he waved a goodbye to her and walked into the classroom. Selphie stood there for several seconds, hand pressed to the cheek Riku had just kissed her on dreamily. And then she turned and spotted Kairi.

The guilt was only temporarily as she shied up to both her friend and Sora, smiling sheepishly. "Hi Kairi." She looked over at the male brunet. "Hi Sora." Whispers had broken out over the mass of students lingering; Sora was sure everyone would know of Riku's new girlfriend before second period even started.

"So you and…" Kairi choked out, still stunned. No, she looked _petrified_.

"Riku?" Sora finished for her. She spared him a thankful glance.

It wasn't every day you found out your best friend was apparently dating your most hated enemy. Sora wasn't quite sure what was going through Kairi's mind at that moment, but he was positive it wasn't anything good. '_I still need to ask her what happened between Riku and her_…'

"Yeah. He called me this morning before school and asked if I wanted to walk with him. Annnndddd…." Selphie's cheeks were turning red. There was a glaze of happiness in her large green eyes, as if she was recollecting on some fairy tale romance scene. Sora couldn't help but frown, especially when the brunette clasped her hands together and began to sway as she recollected her memories. "He told me he'd liked me for awhile, but that he'd been so afraid that I wouldn't want to date him because Kairi and I are friends. But I told him that I'd always thought he was pretty hot and that you'd understand." Her gaze dropped down to the female standing beside Sora, pleading for what she'd said to actually be true.

Kairi said nothing.

"And he kissed me before we got to school and now we've spent the whole morning together. We're going on a date this weekend!" Selphie chirped, clapping her hands together excitedly.

'_What… the hell Riku?_' Sora thought in dismay, unsure as to how he felt about… about this. His stomach was in knots, and he felt sick – he wasn't sure if it was because he knew that Riku had no real interest in Selphie like that, or simply because his friend was actually **dating **someone. '_Why did he hook up with her? He doesn't even like her that way!_' Even if he'd been gone for four years, people like Riku didn't date "daydreamer" girls. Sora's face felt hot as he responded, tone filled with venom he was surprised to hear:

"Well this is a big surprise, seeing as how I was just at Riku's last night and he didn't mention that he was going to ask you out at _all_." In fact, Sora wanted to add but didn't, Riku had practically been feeling _him_ up with how close he'd been. The brunet didn't feel bad at the hurt look that crossed Selphie's face – not at first. Not until he saw and realized that he was the reason her dreamy glow was ebbing away, _fast_.

"Well why would he have talked with you about his feelings when he's only known you for like a week Sora!" Selphie exclaimed, expression tight. '_Oh no… Oh no, are those tears?_' Sora's chest was clenching madly, anger and petty jealousy subsiding into guilt once he spotted the sparkle to her eyes.

"I can't believe you'd do this Selphie!" Kairi broke the silence, shaking her head at her brunette friend. "You know how much of a jerk Riku is! You know what he did to me – he doesn't like you like that."

Selphie tiffed. "You're just mad he broke up with you Kairi, and you need to get over it."

"I broke up with him!" Kairi interrupted, her voice very-nearly a shout.

Sora slinked away from the two girls. Kairi, having apparently gotten over her shock, looked livid and ready to lay into the brunette. '_And this,_' he thought, backing up into his Physics classroom – where Riku was also safe from the drama unfolding – '_this is why you don't date in high school._' At least he had a few more pieces of the story pertaining to why Riku and Kairi hated each other so much, but at Kairi's expense? Sora hadn't expected it to be because of something as petty as a young romance falling out though. '_This won't end well for Selphie,_' he thought grimly. '_Riku is doing this for a reason_.' Of course, Sora was innocently unaware as to the fact that he was the very reason his silver-haired friend was doing this.

He paled as he imagined Kairi and Riku together, which for some reason he couldn't help but feel that was worse than Riku and Selphie – at least Selphie didn't stand a chance to keep Riku's interest for long, but Kairi? Sora had always been worried when he was younger that those two would get together, and they'd eventually forget about him. They'd be too wrapped up in love to remember poor, little Sora, and he'd wind up without his two best friends.

"What're you doing with Selphie, Riku?" Wakka was staring Riku down, his normally calm, playful expression gone. It was the first time Sora had heard him finish a sentence without his trademark 'ya'. The brunet took a seat in the middle of the room, so that he could hear what his silver-haired friend had to say.

"I don't know. I know she's liked me for awhile, so I thought 'why not'." Riku responded smoothly, shrugging. He was fiddling with their Physics packet, which Sora noted with surprise was finished. "I wasn't dating anyone."

"You were saying a few days ago that you liked someone though, ya?" Wakka quipped, brows drawn together. "You can't seriously like her. She's a nice girl, but she's a total airhead."

'_Riku liked someone? That someone really couldn't have been Selphie… Or could it?'_

Sora tried not to make it seem like he was being nosy, so he set about getting his notebook and homework out. He doodled on a page, absentmindedly glancing over at the pair every now and then. Riku was obviously ignoring his presence again, and to say that it wasn't beginning to grate on Sora's nerves would've been an understatement. All week he'd been friendly one moment and then pissed the next, and it was having quite the whiplash effect on the brunet. '_What is his problem?_' Sora was miffed. He scribbled harder. '_Is he just that mad because I hang out with Kairi?_' God, he'd only been back around them all for a week and Riku was already acting like.. Like…

_A jealous teenager._

'_Is he just jealous because I'm around her? Or was he mad because of last night and now he's taking it out on Selphie?_' Sora's forehead prickled, giving him the promise of a future headache if he kept thinking about this. '_Or maybe this has nothing to do with me and Riku's just bored._' That idea settled worse with him than the prior. Although Tidus had teased him his first day that if he was interested in the silverette to look elsewhere, simply because Riku was supposedly a "manwhore". Sora glanced over, watching Wakka stare down Riku in disbelief. It was easy picturing Riku being familiar with the women of the school, what with his good looks at all.

'_But a manwhore?_' Sora looked down at his notebook, frowning. _'Is he that known for hooking up with people?'_ Should he even be surprised he was dating Selphie? What if he'd just finally gotten 'around' to her? Sora bit his bottom lip, feeling his gut sink lower and lower with each passing thought. He drowned out the discussion Wakka was having with Riku – seeing as how Riku was openly ignoring him again – and let his mind wander down a path that was scary to take.

Sora didn't feel like he was so sure he knew his friend. After all, it _had_ been four years. '_Teenage years are the most defining, right? Hormones and all of that?_'

'_God why do I care so much!_' Sora groaned. It wasn't really his business if Riku decided to date someone or not.

Why did it feel like it was, then?

* * *

Lunch was an brimming hive of depression and weirdness. Riku and Wakka sat together at their own table. Selphie was in the silverette's lap, and every time she said something to Riku she giggled loudly. Sora's eyebrow twitched every time she made the offending noise. Even though he was halfway across the cafeteria with Kairi, he could hear Selphie every time she decided to say something – which was frequent. Whenever she burst into giggles over one thing or another Sora would cast a worried glance at his red haired friend.

Kairi had been quiet all day, and was currently picking at her salad with a blank look.

"You know it won't last long." Sora tried encouraging her, patting her shoulder.

"Yeah, I guess," was her mumbled response. "Riku's just doing this to mess with me. I know he is. He's so… So…" Kairi sat up straight, throwing her hands up. "He's so _childish_ Sora! I don't know why you hang out with him."

Sora sighed loudly. He felt a little offended at the disbelieving tone she'd just spoken to him with, as if he was awful just for hanging out with Riku. "I'm new to the school and Riku was kind of the first person I met. He is my neighbor. I don't know anything about anyone here."

Sadly, he was beginning to feel there was some truth to that.

"Why don't you and Riku get along…? Were you guys dating or?" There, he'd asked it, finally. Kairi was quiet for a few moments, though he could see her glaring daggers over at Selphie and Riku. Selphie was giggling, arms thrown around the silverette's neck. She kept kissing his cheek. Even from this far away Sora could see Riku leaning away from her – his lips were set into a fake smile. There was an annoyed glare to his aqua eyes. Yeah, definitely wasn't going to last long.

Kairi breathed in and then out deeply. "Riku and I started dating in eighth grade. At the end of summer, after this big storm."

Sora's breath caught. _'No way_.'

"We dated for one year, and after it we were about to start high school. I told Riku that… I thought I was in love with him, and he freaked out. Anyways," Kairi was keeping her voice low, just barely over a whisper. "He told me that he didn't see a future with 'us'."

"Well you guys were just like… thirteen, Kairi," Sora interjected, unable to help it.

"Yeah I know that," Kairi whispered back furiously, cheeks turning red. "But when you have your first love and all and you get turned down, it kind of messes with you. Haven't you ever had that happen to you?"

"Yeah…" He muttered offhandedly.

Lies.

'_No, I haven't. But you don't need to know that_.'

"Well then you should know how it is! Anyways, I told him I didn't want to date him anymore. And he got all mad and called me a bitch. So I told him he was nothing but a bastard who'd played with my emotions." Kairi stabbed at her salad moodily, probably imagining it was Riku's face. "And we haven't talked since. Riku has dated probably every girl at our school. He is nothing but a whore, like Tidus said, Sora."

"Oh… I…" The brunet looked back at Riku and Selphie. She looked really happy. "I didn't know..."

"Riku just thinks he can have anything and everyone he wants, and I know he's doing this just to get back at me." Kairi smiled at him sharply. She too was watching the new couple, eyes darkened with anger. '_Probably some jealousy, too_,' Sora thought. "He's doing this just because we're hanging out, too – that's how petty he is! I don't think he can stand the fact that one of his friends likes me."

"Yeah, probably," Sora agreed.

He tensed when Riku turned and looked at them. There was an odd mix of emotions in the silverette's eyes as he openly stared at the pair far away from them. Sora felt his entire body go rigid, as if someone had just struck him unexpectedly. There was annoyance in Riku's face, and anger, and… Was that jealousy? _'He really is jealous of me and Kairi's friendship,'_ Sora thought, sinking gut dropping a level lower. The brunet was about to look away when he caught sight of something odd on Riku's face – in his eyes.

There was a hint of longing in his features, as if he was combating the urge to come over and say something.

Maybe there _was_ hope in fixing his and Kairi's relationship, but Sora knew it definitely wasn't going to happen until both of them wanted it mended. '_And that would start with… Riku breaking up with Selphie._'

Which would cause a whole _other_ round of drama, Sora knew, but it'd be a start.

"I heard Wakka talking with Riku in Physics."

"Oh yeah?" Kairi had finally wounded her salad enough with her fork, and was actually chewing on some of the offending food.

"He was saying something about like… - well, he was surprised Riku was dating Selphie, and commented on how he thought Riku had liked someone else. Riku got really mad when he said that. I couldn't hear what they were saying after that." Sora felt Kairi go stiff beside him. He glanced back over at her, wondering what had happened. Maybe she'd swallowed some salad down the wrong pipe?

She hadn't, it would seem. The girl was just staring at him oddly. The look made Sora feel uncomfortable, as if he'd just said something he wasn't supposed to.

"I don't think he meant Selphie, either. No offense to Selphie but she doesn't really seem like Riku's type," Sora chuckled nervously, reaching up to scratch the back of his head.

Kairi just looked at him, lips pursed.

"No, but I think I might understand what's going on."

"Really?" Sora winced at how relieved he sounded. "What? Tell me!"

Kairi just shook her head, lips pursed.

"Maybe later Sora. I'll probably talk with Riku about it when I catch him without Selphie hanging off of him. I had my suspicions, but I didn't think he was serious."

Sora blinked, confused. He nibbled on the inside of his cheek – one of his many nervous habits. _'Why won't she just tell me?'_ When it appeared as if Kairi truly had no intentions to keep talking about it, let alone make him understand what was going on, Sora just fell silent. He joined her in moodily eating their lunches. _'Why do teenagers have to act so dramatic? Ugh_.' Nevermind the fact he was a teenager, of course.

"Well while you two are talking you guys could work out some of your problems so we can all actually spend lunch together without things being weird." Sora felt justified in his own spiteful tone. If Kairi was going to keep him in the dark when she might know something, then he had every right to convey to her just how he felt about Riku's and her's petty issues with one another.

* * *

_**End Chapter 5**_

* * *

**A/N:** Well, this is a bit less of a cliffhanger ending. Hope you all enjoyed it. Following the next chapter, I the story will be taking a minor timeskip. I just wanted to set up everything for the goodness that's about to happen.

I just have one question!

_**Leon, or Cloud?**_

Pick one. Don't pick it because you're hoping for some wacky side-romance. Just tell your preference! I normally don't let readers decide the fate of some things, but in this one case I couldn't tell which of the two I'd prefer to actually be a major part of the story. So give your input, yes?

* * *

_**Thanks to those who reviewed:**_

_DanceInLightening:_ I always love your reviews especially, just because they're long, and I usually write long reviews to stories I like as well. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

_CrazyHighLunatic:_ Reggie isn't OC, and things pertaining to him will come to light later. He will be a main character in the story, but I wanted to shift the spotlight from Sora and Reggie to just Sora and him settling back into his "normal" life. I can't tell you who Reggie's supposed to be yet – you'll find out soon, though. Promise.

_Amskitty214:_ Thanks for the review. I'm glad it appears I've managed to keep the KH characters… In character. I usually have a difficult time doing so (and I honestly expected this story to be all over the place, given it's been forever since I've actually wrote/worked on a Fanfiction piece). Your review made me feel confident, which I need. Everyone needs. Heh.

_EdoLover:_ I'm glad you liked it! And hopefully liked this chapter too.

* * *

Don't worry. This Riku/Selphie thing is very temporary. This is a yaoi fanfic, after all. Sora's just a little dimwitted. I didn't want him to be a hormonal-crazed teenager, simply because… Well, it's not like he's really had time to dilly-dally with romance in the KH series, has he? And I didn't want him to magically feel bisexual or gay either, simply because that isn't really Sora either, now is it? There weren't any scenes in the KH series where guys were hitting on him, and it isn't like Sora was looking for romance from either gender, either.

Anywho, R&R.

Update in a few days, as always. I'll be posting another chapter on my Naruto fanfic, Soul Subjugation, first, and then finishing off The Sleeper Effect's next chappy.

Devilbiter.

P.S.: Next chapter will be the longest so far, so expect to be sitting for well over an hour reading it.

P.S.2.: I need a beta. Cereally.


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